Health insurance for people with autism

Posted by Bob Glowacki on March 11th, 2008

Most states do not require private insurance companies to cover even essential autism treatments and services. Nationwide, few private insurance companies or other employee benefit plans cover Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and other behavioral therapies. In fact, many insurance companies designate autism as a diagnostic exclusion, meaning that no autism-specific services are covered.

There are 16 states that …Read More » »

SOS: Save our SCHIP

Posted by Lynn Sinnott on October 25th, 2007

In the “My day on Capitol Hill” post last week, I blogged about traveling with hundreds of Easter Seals advocates to talk to our legislators in Washington, D.C. Our goal was to encourage Congress to override President Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan …Read More » »

Effective services requires financial support

Posted by Patricia Wright on September 28th, 2007

When a child is diagnosed with autism, parents do what they know best – pursue the most effective intervention services they can find for their child. This is what Joe and Elizabeth Micheletti did for their son Jake when he was diagnosed with autism two years ago. They found an effective intervention.

What they also found is that their medical insurance would …Read More » »

Business gets hip to expansion of SCHIP

Posted by Beth Finke on September 25th, 2007

Those of us who have children with autism or other disabilities have an ongoing concern about the cost of health care and the availability of health insurance. Apparently, we aren’t the only ones.

Last week, an American Public Media radio show called Marketplace aired a story about the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that surprised …Read More » »

Employment, autism and the ADA Restoration Act

Posted by Beth Finke on September 18th, 2007

All the blog comments we’re receiving about health coverage and employment for people with autism prompts me to write again about the importance of restoring the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A National Council on Disability (NCD) report called “Righting the ADA” shows that when it comes to employment discrimination against …Read More » »

Liberty, justice, and health coverage for all

Posted by Beth Finke on September 6th, 2007

A comment to our blog this week expressed a mother’s frustration in finding health insurance for her sons with autism. The lack of health care coverage in America puts many at risk, but none more so than the 100 million Americans with autism and other disabilities.

For the first time ever, …Read More » »

Are people with autism “disabled enough” for the ADA?

Posted by Katy Beh Neas on August 30th, 2007

An article on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at govtech.com points out the confusion about who is “disabled enough” to qualify for ADA rights and why the ADA needs restoration.

The article reports millions of citizens have been left vulnerable to a narrow interpretation of the law, and that people with other disorders and disabilities …Read More » »

Autism…should health insurance cover treatment?

Posted by Ellen Harrington-Kane on August 17th, 2007

Listening to National Public Radio yesterday morning, I heard a news story about a parent who pushed through legislation in South Carolina to provide insurance coverage for autism services. 

As a person who has been a health care professional for over 25 years, it still amazes me that there is such a disparity …Read More » »

The ADA: past, present, and future

Posted by Patricia Wright on July 30th, 2007

Last Thursday I attended the National Council on Disability (NCD) press conference marking the 17th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). As mentioned in a previous post, …Read More » »

Senator Clinton joins Easter Seals in honoring advocates

Posted by Katy Beh Neas on June 6th, 2007

Recently the Easter Seals Advocacy Awards Benefit was held in Washington, D.C. with an all star cast.

We were thrilled that Sen. Hillary Clinton was able to drop by and give special recognition to Rep. John D. Dingell. Rep. Dingell was honored for his half-century of advocacy on behalf of the health of all Americans, including those …Read More » »