NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- As the number of autism cases continues to climb in the United States, there is an increased push to provide better care for Tennessee families.

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Currently, there is no law mandating private insurance companies cover children with autism therapies beyond the age of 12. A bill, currently before lawmakers, would extend coverage through the age of 17, while also ensuring children with autism can access behavioral therapy.

That type of therapy has been around for about a decade and works with children to help them communicate more easily, behave better and socialize more easily.

Supporters took their case to Nashville Tuesday.

"Behavioral therapy with autism is probably the most important therapy there is," said Karen Blake, who runs the Autism Foundation of Tennessee. "Without that therapy, a lot of the children are not able to function in the regular school system or society."

The primary issue is cost. According to Blake, behavioral therapy can cost a family tens of thousands of dollars a year.

"Families are moving away from Tennessee to other states where they can get financial assistance for these, you know, expensive therapies that would not be as expensive coming from the insurance system," said Amanda Peltz, executive director for the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee.

The current coverage standards have been in place since 2007, when advocates and the insurance industry struck a deal that eventually led to the Autism Equality Act.

There's hope a similar deal will eventually unfold, but with a long list of insurance mandates currently on the table in the coming year, many supporters are remaining only cautiously optimistic.