Autism/Asperger's and Health Insurance

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I don't know if this is the right area to ask this. I'm pretty sure I have Asperger's. I want to go to a psychologist and see if I can get a clear diagnosis. However, when I discussed it with my boyfriend, he brought up a really good point- do insurance policies sometimes change because of it?

I know a lot of people have trouble thinking of it as being a neurological condition rather than a disease, and now I'm a little apprehensive to get diagnosed for fear that I may have trouble obtaining health insurance/may have to pay a higher premium in the future.

For now I have insurance, and I do intend on looking more into this once I get out of work, but it's a good topic that I haven't considered before. So I figured I'd see what others' experiences are.

So has anyone here ever run into any bumps concerning health insurance due to their autism/asperger's?

The problem I have with health insurance is that I was diagnosed through my works EAP and I have health insurance and I cant find any psychologists or therapists that take my insurance. I need help and I cannot find anything and whats out there costs on average 175.00 for a 45 minute session-I am doing ok at work but not that ok.

when i had real health insurance [a group health plan when i was a civil servant] they covered mental health issues and so there was no penalty for the AS dx.

May I ask which company this was? I got United and I'm having trouble finding a clear answer on their website.

My therapists usually used a diagnosis code in the past other than Asperger's since I'm pretty sure Asperger's does not have it's own code diagnosis code yet. Insurance companies usually don't challenge coverage for sessions related to autism, OCD, depression, etc.

Huh? AS is actually about to be removed. It has it's own insurance code.

I don't know if you will get penalized on future coverage or not. The health insurance form I'm filling out right now does ask if you've been diagnosed with autism. (See my post on this forum.)

group health puget sound. [western washington state]. they are a large HMO/PPO.

The healthcare system in this country is so screwed up......and I had better stop there or that rant will never end.

Sorry I cannot really be of much assistance, and I wish you the best of luck with this.

My copays to the psy doubled due to a diagnosis as a "genetic" condition. But besides that I've never really had it held against me. I lost good insurance and now have a horrible united plan due to my company having horrible money saving skills.

I believe my copay may have been 30 for the psy.

Hi Kaitlyn this is Spencer!! Welcome!! I hate to say this, but perhaps a diagnosis of just autism then?! I regret the diagnosis (I had it myself when I was about 3), but it HAS helped me in terms of legal benefits (meds, SSI, etc.) Usually I say Asperger's 'cuz I think it describes me better - my mom says the same thing, so I don't think it's "illegitimate" to say I have Asperger's, as I have met people with just plain "autism" and find them VASTLY different than I am (whereas those diagnosed with Asperger's I feel are almost twins to me in some way, lol ). So I'm thinking you would probably be well off doing what I did, getting a diagnosis of autism, but saying to friends that "Asperger's" was/is your diagnosis. As for family, they should be a bit more accepting of an autistic diagnosis if you explain it to them well enough. Hope that helps!!

Hey Spencer!! Great to see you here! That's funny, I've gotten along well with autistic people before (both online, where one was one of my best friends, to in-person.) I fear we'd be getting off-topic if I went on though, so if you wanna start a thread about this elsewhere, send me the link. Or we can just chat later.

Gah, it's so stupid to charge more for something being "genetic". Are they allowed to make tall people pay more? How about black people? Women? I can't read about this idea without thinking it's a kind of accepted form of discrimination. Isn't EVERYONE prone to certain conditions more than others due to their genetic makeup? Why is this fair?

... Haha, ranting to my boyfriend about this . He's just laughing and saying, "This is what all the clamors for health reform have been about!" He also says women used to have to pay more... because we might have babies... What crap!


*Sigh* You and me both, sister...