Lorri Unumb to Host “My Child Has Autism: How Do I Get Insurance?” Webchat
Please join us Monday February 27th for our first webchat featuring the Government Relations team: “My Child Has Autism: How Do I Get Insurance?” The webchat will be hosted by Lorri Unumb, Esq., our Vice President for State Government Affairs.
Held at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 Central/6 Mountain/5 Pacific), this “office hour” will connect families looking for answers about their health insurance with Ms. Unumb, who is regarded as one of the nation’s pre-eminent experts on health insurance and coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism. Ms. Unumb wrote groundbreaking autism insurance reform legislation enacted in her home state of South Carolina in 2007 and has since led the way for the enactment of similar laws in 27 other states. Her most recent honor was the 2012 Leadership in Advocacy Award presented by the California Association for Behavior Analysis.
Ms. Unumb welcomes your questions about how autism insurance coverage works in your state, understanding self-insured policies and the impact of the new federal health care law on autism coverage. However, the guidance provided on the webchat is not meant to substitute for the information provided by your employer’s human resources department, your insurance agent or attorney.
Is there a way to email Lorri our questions beforehand? Or just try and speak up the night of the webcast?
I too wish I could email Lorri. My son, 34 on Feb 27, fell through the cracks. There was no diagnosis of ASD available and he fell off my insurance when he turned of age after college. His diagnosis did not come until he was 28. Is there any possibility that we can put him on our insurance now. We are in South Carolina and carry both state and federal BC/BS.
How do we sign in/get connected in the webchat? There are no instructions on where/how .. just a date & time.
I have a four year old wth autism. we have health insurance, but the insurance will not cover autism therapy. even with the state mandates, our insurance rejects one claim after the other.
My son has Asbergers syndrome and we have been denied insurance coverage on him. He is mild and is mainstreamed does not require any therapy but does use Daytrana patches for ADHD. My husband lost his job and we are paying for Cobra because we could not get coverage on him with any company we called. Would appreciate any advice!
We are in the same situation. Our insurance will end 2/29.
I cannot see where to register for the webcast… Thanks.
We will be providing a link shortly!
Our insurance will pay to have our son institutionalized but pay for ABA therapy, which he really needs. They will pay for medication which doesn’t help, but they wont pay for what DOES work.
Our insurance will pay to have our son institutionalized but will NOT pay for ABA therapy which he really needs. They will pay for expensive medication which doesn’t help but they won’t pay for what DOES work.
@Shelly, is your insurance plan an ERISA plan? We have the same problem and my husband’s employer, FedEx, refuses to pay for autism related therapies saying that they are taking their cues from Cigna (our health plan provider) who is telling them that ABA and the like are “experimental” which of course we all know isn’t true. What really burns me is that FedEx provides a free printed copy of the “100 Day” guide that Autism Speaks makes available, pretending that they care that kids and families are dealing with autism, when in reality, if a FedEx employee’s child is diagnosed they let us twist in the wind. Last spring, FedEx changed the name of the FedEx 400 race to “FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks” all the while knowing full well that their employees and kids were left out to dry scrambling for help with no concern from FedEx at all.
I think the public, who doesn’t deal with autism every day, needs to know the back story on some of their favorite companies and how they treat these innocent children whose only issue is that their parents work for the wrong company. :(
My husband just lost his job and our insurance. We applied for our own insurance and my daughter got denied insurance. They said autism is a pre existing condition. She is 19 and in college. Not sure what we can do.
My son in law has medical insurance on my Autistic grandson but CAN’T find a pediatrician in the Houston/Katy area that takes insurance but they will take Medicaid or cash, can anyone help? this is ridiculous.
still no info on how to log in for this webchat????!!
Yes! Here is the link! http://www.facebook.com/autismspeaks?sk=app_136307099801279 Visit here around 7:45!
Will this be recorded for later replay?
Will the webinar provide any guidance on coverage for developmental therapies, especially RDI? It is the only therapy that has really helped my son to make progress.
Is this archived anywhere to watch? I had an event at my child’s school tonight and wasn’t able to join and/or watch. I desperately need this information since our employer has an ERISA plan, we live in PA which has an Autism law, our secondary insurance is Tricare Standard (we’re retired military) and we have 2 kids on the spectrum. Sheri