The director of the National Institutes of Health previously floated — then walked back — the idea of an autism registry, alarming researchers and parents.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a plan Wednesday to use medical data and records from people on Medicaid and Medicare to help study autism although experts say it's unlikely to help reveal the condition's root causes.

By Ahmed Aboulenein and Sriparna Roy WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Federal health agencies will create a database of autism patients enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid that researchers will use to study the causes of autism spectrum disorder,