I am holding my breath. I probably shouldn’t, but I am.
My email is full of messages discussing our soon to be President, Barack Obama, and his announcement that he will reform Autism and insurance mandates; i.e. policy reform targeted at having insurance companies help pay for the cost of treating autism; at least I think that’s what it means…
I hate to sound cynical, but one can never quite tell what any politician, President or not, will really do.However, I am hopingthings change and I further hopeinsurance companies are mandated to pay for treating autism.
There is a downsideof course. Specifically, in the U.S., biomedical treatments are not an approved treatment for autism; as a matter of fact, few things are. WhileABA is considered ‘standard treatment’ in the U.S., few other interventions are and, out of those that are ‘accepted’ you will find zero biomedical treatments; GFCF/Dietary being the exception.
So, does this mean insurance companies will pay for therapy then? Idoubt they will pay for an unapproved treatment.My daughter, without disabilities, has one of the best health plans you can have and, guess what?, chiropractic and other treatments aren’t even covered, so I doubt many autism treatments will be.
Ditto for drugs; antibiotics are covered but not vitamins, another importantautism treatment.
I’m not trying to complainor be negative. I’mtrying to be realistic and objective. This leads me to simply wonder, in the end, when reform is completed: whattreatments will insurance companies be mandated to cover?
Does it make sense to mandate treatments that aren’t the most effective? If we have insurance companies pay for therapy that ‘someone’ else is currently paying for, then we’re just shifting the financial burden and the insurance companies will protest (I assume anyway).
Here’s another unpopular opinion ofmine: thedoctors who provide certaintreatment protocols, forchildren with autism,make a lot of money folks. A lot. In some cases, I think we (as in parents) are cash cows; no insurance rates, no lag in billing and getting paid, no restrictions on ‘care’… and, we pay cash for treatment. How is it, that treatment for Candida Yeast is not covered by insurance? It is! But, if your Dr. doesn’t accept insurance, you’re left with the bill.
I expect there to be some resistance from those who stand to lose a little, or a lot, of money.I hope not. I hopeI’m wrong and this reform quickly moves forward andbiomedical treatments are determined to be approved treatments and, as such, are covered by insurance companies.
I’m not sure what, if anything, will come of this announcement. Our new President certainly has a lot of work to do once he takes office, and I’d like to think this is a priority amongst others that will be handled in the best of interest of our children instead of special interests of industries.
What does your family face when dealing with treatments, insurance companies, drug coverage and more?
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