Paying for ABA

[Guest guest]

Thought some on this list might help.

Joe

ABA therapy coverage campaign - new development

Dear friend:

This e-mail is to inform you of a new posting on our site

www.abatcc.solvethepuzzle.org

It may also be read below:

Small Setback, but the Fight Continues

The government entity in charge of federal health insurance

policy has denied our request to have ABA therapy covered

under health plans available to federal employees.

The denial came in a letter by Office of Personnel Management

(OPM) Director Kay Coles in which she, quoting an

unnamed " expert independent medical consultant, " claims that

ABA therapy has not " proven [itself] ... beneficial "

or " medically necessary. " Furthermore, Mrs. Coles

writes that OPM polled health insurance companies within the

federal system regarding coverage for ABA. According to her

findings, all of them considered ABA therapy to

be " experimental or investigational " (for the full text of

her letter, check the attached PDF file).

Mrs. Coles 's letter was in response to letters written

on our behalf by Congressional Autism Caucus co-chairmen,

Reps. (R-NJ) and Mike Doyle (D-PA), a number of

other lawmakers as well as by American Federation of

Government Employees National President, Gage, who

represents some 600,000 federal workers. All of these

individuals, in separate appeals, called on Mrs. Coles

to consider the benefits of early intervention and to look

for ways to amend federal insurance guidelines to include

coverage for ABA therapy.

Mrs. Coles 's response came as no surprise to us.

Somehow we knew that it would be in line with the position of

the insurance companies which she " polled. " However, it was

quite astonishing that she actually admitted that polling

insurance companies was the methodology she used to help her

reach what one might consider was a foregone conclusion. Why

did she not poll the 190+ members or at least the leadership

of the Congressional Autism Caucus? Why did she not poll

parents of autistic children who don't consider it

experimental to spend several thousand dollars a month to

provide their children with a therapy that is deemed to give

them their only promising chance at a fair life? Why did she

not poll the other group of parents who despair every day,

because they cannot afford a therapy which for their child

could mean the difference between a functional life and life

in an institution? Why did she not consult a 1999 U.S.

Surgeon General's report that recognizes and extols the

benefits of early behavioral intervention. It seems that, for

whatever reason, her mind was already made up from the get

go. All she needed was a few allies that would support her

position, and she knew exactly where to find them.

In any event, Mrs. Coles 's denial of our request is not

the end of the road for us. We are already working on the

next steps in this process, and will keep you posted.

In the meantime, tell Mrs. Kay Coles what you think of

her decision by e-mailing her at director@...

Please make sure to copy us at abatcc@...