Insurance for Autism? (PAHomePage.com)

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Insurance for Autism?
Reported by: Eric Scheiner
Thursday, Jul 5, 2007 @08:33pm EST

WILKES-BARRE-- There are roughly 75-thousand autistic residents in Pennsylvania and the numbers are growing, and many are not covered by insurance providers.

Insurance companies usually deny claims related to autism because they believe the condition isn't treatable. Even though treatment and education has shown otherwise, many policies haven't changed.

There's a move to amend the Insurance Company Law in Pennsylvania to provide reasonable coverage to individuals for autism spectrum disorders and supporters are rallying around it.

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the east sounds like they have better programes for autistics. you cant get any services for aspergers here because they dont consider it autism or a developental disability

If you want to be covered, tell your doctor to bill it under something else. For example, I got coverage for testing for heavy metals not because I'm autistic but because I have symptoms of heavy metal poisoning (which I believe are similar to autism so everyone with autism would qualify). If the test shows mercury is high, then chelation isn't to treat autism but to treat mercury toxicity.

I wonder if parents of children who have speech delay because of autism could have a speech therapist bill categorised as something else eg. to treat speech delay as a free standing condition rather than have it associated with autism.

Autism can't be cured but occupational and speech therapy can help people with autism develop skills in better dealing with their condition.