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Jenn Ralph
MemberI am posting for a friend who needs a new consultant and BI's in the new year.
Four year old boy in Vancouver, easily accessible on bus route.
If you have any information on available, quality ABA consultants or are a BI wanting to apply, please email me at jenn.ralph@shaw.ca
Thanks!
JennMemberCan anyone who speaks fluent Vietnamese please contact me – it is to help a new Mom get started. I will be meeting with her next week myself but thought it might be helpful if she also spoke to someone in her own language.
Contact me at jenn.ralph@shaw.ca for her phone number.
Thanks!
JennMemberCan Trinh Vu please contact me?
Jenn.ralph@shaw.caMember…more good evidence for ABA….good article.
Jennhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100825174116.htm
MemberBlue Cross to Pay $125,000 in Ground-Breaking Settlement for Autism
xrl.in/5j72
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has again been compelled by a lawsuit to pay claims for autism spectrum disorder treatment known as Applied Behavior Analysis, or "ABA."
In the case of Matthews v. Blue Cross, Case No. 09-018750-CK , Wayne County Circuit Court, Blue Cross accepted a case evaluation awardautisminsurancemi.blogspot.com xrl.in/5j74
of $125,000 in favor of the plaintiff, Cheryl Matthews, an Oakland County Circuit Court judge. Matthews alleged in her lawsuit that Blue Cross wrongfully refused to pay $38,000 in insurance claims stemming from the ABA treatment provided to her autistic son.
Earlier this year, Blue Cross paid over $1,000,000 to settle a class action lawsuit, Johns v. Blue Cross, No. 08-12272 (E.D. Mich) which also alleged that the insurer had engaged in a pattern and practice of wrongfully denying claims for ABA therapy. Both the Matthews case and the Johns case were handled by Gerard Mantese and John Conway, who devote a large part of their practice to making ABA therapy available to children with autism spectrum disorder.
Blue Cross took the position that Matthews' claim should be denied because ABA therapy was not an approved medical treatment under her insurance policy. Blue Cross filed three separate motions for summary disposition, seeking to dismiss the case, but Judge Prentis Edwards denied all three motions, forcing Blue Cross to either settle the claims or go to trial.
The $125,000 amount which Blue Cross must pay to Matthews represents three times the cost of therapy and recognized Matthews' argument that her inability to access additional therapy from Blue Cross for her son will result in increased life care costs for her son. Many other States mandate that insurers pay for ABA therapy for autistic children, but the Michigan legislature has not yet passed a law to this effect.
Gerard Mantese, counsel for Cheryl Matthews, stated: "We believe that this is the first settlement in the United States to recognize the link between the inability of children with autism spectrum disorder to access needed ABA therapy and increased life care costs in the future because of the reduced functioning of children with ASD."
John Conway, co-counsel for Matthews, stated, "We will continue to bring these suits until all insurers stop making baseless excuses for insuring this needed therapy."MemberSorry – I have no idea why my last message posted so many times…
MemberMissouri Legislature Passes Insurance Coverage for Autism
globe-democrat.com is.gd/c6xsG
Missouri families with children on the autism spectrum disorder will soon be guaranteed that health carriers will provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. The Missouri General Assembly today gave its final approval to House Bill 1311. The measure, handled by Sen. Scott T. Rupp, R-St. Charles, and Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, now moves to the governorâs desk for his signature to become law. The bill, if approved by the governor, would take effect August 28.
Rupp noted that autism is the only disorder out of the top 10 childhood neurobiological disorders that is not covered by health insurance.
âItâs been a long road to get to this point. This is an important day for Missouri families that struggle with autism,â said Rupp. âThe legislation we passed today is fair for everyone, and most importantly, it gets families the help they need."
Schmitt has been a strong supporter, working to advance the measure through the legislative process. He has also shared his familyâs personal experiences with his colleagues regarding his young son, Stephen, who falls on the autism spectrum.
âChildren on the autism spectrum deal with so many challenges each and every day,â Schmitt said. âThese proven therapies are the difference between whether a family can go to a restaurant without having to leave early, the difference between a child having meaningful friendships. We owe it to these families to give their children the opportunity to reach their full potential. Put simply, this bill is the right thing to do and the right time to do it."
The bill requires most health carriers that issue or renew health benefit plans to provide coverage for diagnosis and treatment of individuals with autism. It would restrict health carriers from refusing to issue or renew coverage based solely on the fact of an autism diagnosis. The proposed insurance coverage would include a physician or psychiatristâs referral of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy â up to $40,000 per year for individuals under the age of 21. A cost-of-living adjustment has been included to adjust the cap for therapy services in coming years.
Senate Leader Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, said early diagnosis and intervention is reported as the key to making sure children on the spectrum can have the best quality of life possible.
âWe have worked to make prevention and early diagnosis a cornerstone of health care in Missouri,â Shields said. âBy passing this bill, we are making sure the same is true for these children."MemberWow – check it out.
JennMemberfrom the Times Colonist:
Scrapped autism program was unfair: Polak
By Lindsay Kines, Times ColonistSeptember 23, 2009
B.C. Children's Minister Mary Polak backtracked yesterday on her reasons for scrapping an early intervention program for autistic children.
Polak said last week that she killed the early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) program, in part, because it performed little better than less expensive services.
"We recognize, too, that we have to look at the outcomes," she told a news conference then. "And when it comes to what was occurring with EIBI, we were not seeing any appreciable improvements in the outcomes for those kids."
Polak changed her story, however, after the ministry admitted that she was basing her comments on a four-year-old study. The research was done while EIBI was still in its infancy, and the ministry acknowledges that much has changed since then.
Faced with that, Polak now says the decision to scrap the EIBI program had nothing to do with its quality, and was solely an issue of fairness.
"Whether or not, in point of fact, there was a greater improvement or an appreciable difference between the programs was not the issue upon which we based the decision," she said.
The real reason, Polak said, was that the EIBI program cost $70,000 annually for each child under six and served only 70 children in seven communities. The other 800 or more autistic pre-school children in B.C. receive $20,000 a year.
"This is an issue of equity and it's an issue of access," she said yesterday.
The government argues that by scrapping the $5-million program, it can use the money to boost intervention services to all children from $20,000 a year to $22,000 as of April 1. It will also use part of the money to set up a $1-million outreach program to improve services in rural and remote areas.
The decision to kill the program affects 22 children in Victoria and eliminates 39 full-time, part-time and casual jobs at Queen Alexandra.
NDP children's critic Maurine Karagianis said Polak's reversal shows the ministry acted too quickly and failed to consult parents.
"I think their reasons for cancelling this program are crumbling under close inspection," she said. "And the fact that the government is now changing their tune — backing away from their original statement — says to me that … there is no basis for this."
Polak said the B.C. government has increased funding for autism from $4.1 million in 2001 to $46 million this year. lkines@tc.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
MemberHi all,
Below is a link to find your MLA with contact information.http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm
If you want a sample letter – see the one we sent Mary Polak (MCFD) below. Change what you want to individualize if you like.
mary.polak.mla@leg.bc.ca
Gordon Campbell is premier@gov.bc.ca
JennDear Ms. Polak,
I am writing you today as a very concerned parent to recent announcements you made, specifically plans to take away the direct funding model of autism funding for children.
Ms. Polak, I don't know how much you know about autism and the history of all of the struggles in this province to get our children treatment and to ensure they have rights to get that treatment. Indeed, that struggle is ongoing as our children are still being vastly underserved. The direct funding model that Gordon Campbell brought in in 2003 enabled children to at least get some quality, scientific based autism treatment, applied behaviour analysis (ABA), which was never offered in any arguable way by the government service providers, which were the only option at the time. It also saved the government millions of dollars in administration fees that the parents were now doing themselves.
The announcement to move back to "invoice payment" as the only option is a step backward in this direction. This will cost the government much more money, but more importantly will unnecessarily put all of our children at risk.
Ms. Polak – my husband and I are requesting a meeting with you next week in person. We want to help you understand the gravity of this situation and are eager to hear your opinions and ideas on this subject.
Jennifer and Doug Ralph
Jenn.ralph@shaw.ca
604 812-4341 cell
604 541-8242 home -
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