Sadly, Insurance Companies Refuse Autism Coverage
Raymond
"There are real children whose lives are going to be destroyed because
we are acting indifferent to them.
Total Cost For A Child Can Reach $5 Million, But Few States Mandate
Coverage; Is Change On The Horizon?
By Thalia Assuras
One in every 150 children in America has autism, and the number of
reported cases are growing. The total cost of caring for an autistic
child can be expensive. Thalia Assuras reports.
Korlan Oldham of Leesburg, Va. receives one-on-on one behavioral
therapy to treat his autism. The medical and therapy costs associated
with autism can be astronomical, but insurance companies rarely cover
them and only seven states have laws mandating that they do. (CBS)
The total cost of caring for an autistic child can reach a staggering
$5 million.
Parents are increasingly demanding that insurance companies cover the
newest treatment. CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras visited one
such family in Virginia.
At 7 years old, Tristan Oldham is the big brother in this rambunctious
trio. A couple of years younger is Gareth - bubbly and playful until
he was two.
That's when "he slowly stopped playing. He would sit in a corner and
chew on his shirt and play with the shadows," said mother Cassandra
Oldham.
Gareth was diagnosed with autism. Nine months later, as Cassandra and
Bill Oldham struggled to cope with Gareth's condition, they suffered
another blow. Their third child, Korlan, is also autistic.
"I can't even describe it in words really. Just pain. Pain. Gut-
wrenching more pain," Cassandra Oldham said.
The emotional anguish was multiplied by financial stress.
Intensive, one-on-one behavioral and speech therapy called "applied
behavior analysis therapy" or ABA helps the boys. But it costs up to
$7,000 a month per child for the recommended 40 hours per week. The
Oldhams struggled to pay even half the amount.
"Which child do you choose? We don't have enough money to pay for
therapy for both of them," Cassandra Oldham said.
The Oldhams have insurance, but not for autism therapy because
Virginia isn't one of the seven states that mandate coverage.
Businesses say adding autism to the list is too expensive.
"Prosthetics, mental health, stress, hypertension: all of these things
lead to a cumulative effect that runs the risk of putting the
insurance out of reach for the average business person and the average
employee working for that person," said Hugh Keogh of the Virginia
Chamber of Commerce.
Cassandra Oldham and state Delegate Bob Marshall don't buy it. They
are pushing legislation that would force insurers to cover ABA, and
say the costs of a policy would be minimal - somewhere between $2 and
$4 a month.
"There are real children whose lives are going to be destroyed because
we are acting indifferent to them. That's not a moral response,"
Marshall said.
But in tough economic times, states like Virginia are trying to figure
out how to do the most good with fewer resources.
"Ii have a lot of fear when I think about the future and where my kids
will be at," Cassandra Oldham said.
They've thought about moving to a state where their boys can get all
the help they need.
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Interactive
Breaking The Silence: Suffer Little Children
Find out more about autism, and where to get help for someone who may
have this neurological disorder
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/60minutesII/autism/framesource.html
Day Brown
> Sadly, Insurance Companies Refuse Autism Coverage
> "There are real children whose lives are going to be destroyed because
> we are acting indifferent to them.
>
> Total Cost For A Child Can Reach $5 Million, But Few States Mandate
> Coverage; Is Change On The Horizon?
> By Thalia Assuras
>
> One in every 150 children in America has autism, and the number of
> reported cases are growing. The total cost of caring for an autistic
> child can be expensive. Thalia Assuras reports.
the_pc_jellllybean!!.!!!!
"Day Brown" <dayh...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4a41b108$0$11548$ec3e...@news.usenetmonster.com...
Sure, I'm up for it.
Go ahead.
Day Brown
>> Care to get into why we have an autism epidemic?
>
> Sure, I'm up for it.
>
> Go ahead.
There are, so far, a couple dozen DNA markers. If a kid has less than
12, he prolly wont be affected. But if so, then exposure to a virus can
trigger it. Also exposure to contaminants like mercury and the traces of
organo-phosphates left on veggies from agribusiness petrochemicals.
The PBS FRONTLINE Yaqui Valley piece showed how veggies exposed to
agribusiness petrochemicals respond with high levels of phyto-estrogens
in their tissues. The FDA was not worried, they knew it didnt cause
cancer. Its whats in the birth control pill.
But if what you want is a generation of girls who enter puberty early,
before the brains have developed enuf to prevent them from becoming
sluts, what else would you try? And if what you wanted was a generation
of fags, I cant think of anything better than dosing little boys with
phytoestrogen. And of course, some become autistic as well.
Course, you could look at the Amish or family farm communities, where
the kids are still raised on home grown veggies and not sugar cereals,
junkfood, and soda... and see remarkably low rates of sexual deviance
and mental pathology. You can tell because the schools still work.
Another clue is Robt. Kaplan's study of the military, "Imperial Grunts"
in which he reports that half the Green Berets grew up on family farms.
This but 1% of the total population providing 50% of the nation's most
fit soldiers. You'd think the Pentagon would notice, but the brass was
raised on sugar cereals, junkfood, and soda too. Which is also why they
cant figure out how to beat a two bit operation like the Taliban.
And of course, we see how high the general neurosis rate is in postings.
Dr. Freud noted how, when you present the facts to dispel delusions, the
neurotic is angry, not educated. Which is why we see ad hominem here.
the_pc_jellllybean!!.!!!!
> tHe_PC_JelLlLy BeAn!! .! !!! wrote:
>>> Care to get into why we have an autism epidemic?
>>
>> Sure, I'm up for it.
>>
>> Go ahead.
> I began working with autistic boys in 1963, so I've kept up with it.
> There are, so far, a couple dozen DNA markers. If a kid has less than 12,
> he prolly wont be affected. But if so, then exposure to a virus can
> trigger it. Also exposure to contaminants like mercury and the traces of
> organo-phosphates left on veggies from agribusiness petrochemicals.
>
> The PBS FRONTLINE Yaqui Valley piece showed how veggies exposed to
> agribusiness petrochemicals respond with high levels of phyto-estrogens in
> their tissues. The FDA was not worried, they knew it didnt cause cancer.
> Its whats in the birth control pill.
>
> But if what you want is a generation of girls who enter puberty early,
> before the brains have developed enuf to prevent them from becoming sluts,
> what else would you try? And if what you wanted was a generation of fags,
> I cant think of anything better than dosing little boys with
> phytoestrogen. And of course, some become autistic as well.
Man, its time you boned up on your phytonutrients.
What a load of muddleheaded nonsense