Diagnosis and Health Insurance?

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn0yZKbifAs[/youtube]

I won't say much... the video pretty much speaks for itself. What do you think of Temple Grandin's claim that getting diagnosed with Asperger's/Autism can have a negative affect on your health insurance coverage? Has anyone experienced this?

Autism is the main reason why I cannot get health insurance. It does not matter if a person is diagnosed with classic autism like me, or if they are diagnosed with Aspergers or high functioning autism. The insurance companies and government treat it as the same. I would tell adults who are not officially diagnosed to take this woman's words as Gospel. Read the books, do the research, and take the proper online tests. It's a simple behavioral profile . If all of these things indicate you have it, then "You got it."

For adults, there are essentially no services for autism alone. The "Social Security" Administration doesn't even have a set of rules for adult autism that allows the agency to evaluate for disability benefits. Now autistic adults do sometimes receive services, but these services are made available by diagnosis of other conditions in addition to autism. For example, for an autistic person to be disabled, he or she must also have an IQ in the mentally ret*d range. The disability that qualifies for benefits is NOT AUTISM but rather mental retardation.

I am a big proponent of self diagnosis. I consider people who come here stating that they are self diagnosed have just as much right to be here as those who have a doctor's letter. In fact, if they want to pursue a professional diagnosis, I try my best to talk them out of it.

Does anyone know the rationale for denying autistics/aspergers health insurance? Is this just rank prejudice or is there something about us that makes us a bad bet?

I've not been officially diagnosed and cannot afford insurance in general.....but if I were to get an official diagnoses it would probably make it very difficult for me to get insurance if I ever were in a position to afford it.

Hmm... I never had issues getting insurance.

People really need to know about this health insurance issue before they get a diagnosis. Here in California, it has been near impossible to get private insurance for years now if you have any pre-existing condition, no matter how seemingly trivial. It really is an appalling state of affairs that oddly enough, few Americans seem to fully comprehend: if you lose your job, your COBRA expires (or you simply can't afford the high rates), and you have had so much as a sinus infection, you might well find yourself unable to get private insurance. (My insurance agent has had people denied coverage because of a dx diaper rash!)

If the healthcare bill is not dismantled, this will end at the start of 2014. But healthcare costs must also be addressed, as the ability to buy insurance does us little good if the premiums are unaffordable. There really are endless ways to cut costs without impacting quality of care. All we have to do is look to all the other developed nations - we pay on average more than 100% more than they do per capita for healthcare, yet we only insure about 80% of us, and we have a shorter life expectancy to boot. A number of these countries even go to the doctor more and take more tests than we do too. For instance, in Japan, the average person goes to the hospital FOUR times more than the average American, yet they pay only 40% of what we pay per capita overall. There are as many different models as there are countries, from single payer to non-profit to for-profit - why not study them and implement the best ideas that a majority of us can agree upon?

I guess my point is, healthcare coverage or lack thereof is a major problem for everyone on the spectrum, yet there is no reason it has to be this way. Solutions are out there to reduce costs. The reason they are not being considered is simple: the healthcare lobby is dominating he conversation in Washington and blocking them from even being mentioned. This could all change if enough of us put direct pressure on or legislators. If you doubt that, look what happened with the SOPA/PIPA bills this week - if enough voters get involved, things really can change.

I don't believe in health insurance in the first place, as it is useless in most cases. It is possible to live without it, as everyone did for the first 150 years of the USA. It's all about priorities in life. Do you need a shiny boat or RV more than your health? If so, then you need health insurance. If not, then you will have a nice savings account set aside for health care. And the truth is, that most hospital bills are inflated at least 1000 (yes, one thousand) percent because health insurance won't pay much, and the hospitals have to get past that. If a hospital bill is $10,000, you can get it down to $1,000 cash, which everyone should be able to keep in the bank at all times, if one lives within one's means.

Charles

Health care bills are ridiculous these days. When I had my appendix out the bills totaled up to over $25,000. I don't know how anyone without insurance can afford that. My mother doesn't even make that much a year.

interesting topic and a good one to bring up.

♥ Temple Grandin ♥

I have considered the insurance backlash previously... Although my current company has flat-rate insurance across something like 20k employees so I cant be denied but I am not positive that I will always work for that company. At which point this sort of thing could potentially become a problem I guess.

One thing that I hadn't considered before, even with all the talk about the changes between version 4 and 5 was getting the DSM IV and using its diagnostic criteria... I might just have to do that afterall

edit to add... acording to the DSM IV I do fit the diagnosis... proper thread about to happen.

I'll never be able to get private insurance. Minnesota has an insurance for people like that. I'll likely be under Medicare or state insurance for life.