The Autism News | English


(SACRAMENTO)- Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg said he’s pleased with what may be significant progress in the fair insurance coverage of therapy for people with autism, after the Department of Managed Health Care revealed a new insurance settlement agreement with one of the state’s largest HMOs during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Autism and Related Disorders.

During Wednesday’s hearing, DMHC revealed a settlement agreement with Blue Shield of California regarding insurance coverage for Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) in the treatment of autism and related disorders. DMHC also indicated it is in similar negotiations with Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente. Those three health plans represent an estimated 95 percent of the 22 million Californians covered by HMOs, according to testimony at the hearing.

Good news! Great news as a matter of fact. There must be a catch.

Autism parent and health advocate Feda Almaliti is one of the foremost authorities on autism and health insurance coverage in California, and explains what is really going on:

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A Fairy Tale about Autism in the Land of California

Once upon a time, in a room very nearby, a group sat down at a table behind heavy doors. Some in the group were regulators appointed by a governor named Brown, and some were representatives of a major health plan. But no one at that table was a parent whose child needed therapy, no one there would raise real-life issues or concerns. No one would ever say “Nay.”

This fairy tale gathering happened last Monday, July 11th. The regulatory agency was the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and the health plan was Blue Shield of California.

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