Insurance setback for California families of kids with autism
March 10th, 2009From the Los Angeles Times:
In a letter issued this week, California’s Department of Managed Health Care said that insurers must provide speech, occupational and physical therapies for autism, but are not required to pay for applied behavior analysis.
Parents have argued that the behavior therapy, which can cost as much as $70,000 a year per person, is needed to help their children gain the skills they need to live in society. They maintain that failure to provide the therapy is a violation of the Mental Health Parity Act.
Insurers say applied behavior analysis is an educational service, not medicine, and that covering it would drive up insurance costs for everyone.

