Yay! Supreme Court! Upheld Affordable Healthcare Act!
I'm sorry if I am politicizing ... but it has to be said:
The fact that the Affordable Healthcare Act was UPHELD today in the Supreme Court was a BIG W-I-N for us, families affected by autism.
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Autism Speaks Response to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on the Affordable Care Act
NEW YORK (June 28, 2012) -- Autism Speaks issued the following statement today in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the constitutionality of the 2010 Affordable Care Act:
"The need for people with autism to get good quality care is Autism Speaks' first priority. Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act provides clarity to our efforts to achieve that mission. It should be noted that the decision does not affect the autism insurance reform laws enacted by 31 states.
"The Affordable Care Act requires all states to establish a set of 10 'essential health benefits,' one of which is 'Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment.' Congress specifically added 'including behavioral health treatment' to address autism therapies, such as Applied Behavior Analysis.
"For the past several months, Autism Speaks has raised concerns with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is overseeing the implementation of the ACA, that the requirement for behavioral health treatment coverage is not being pursued. Congress required such treatment be included as an essential health benefit and the U.S. Supreme Court has held the act constitutional. It is now the obligation of HHS to respect the intent of Congress by insisting all states include behavioral health treatment, such as ABA for autism."
Autism Speaks Commends Sen. Menendez for Insisting Autism Therapies Get Covered Under New Federal Health Care Law
WASHINGTON, DC (Feb. 21, 2012) – Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) pressed U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to insure that the states include behavioral health treatments for autism as they implement the Affordable Care Act, expressing “serious concern” that the federal government’s efforts thus far have fallen short. Autism Speaks applauded the remarks by Senator Menendez, who is among a group of Senate and House champions that continues to fight for a strong federal commitment to meaningful autism insurance coverage.
View the exchange between Senator Menendez and Secretary Sebelius below:
During a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee last week, Menendez said Congress in writing the 2010 law “assured all qualified health plans would include behavioral health service as part of the essential benefits package. Among the universe of those who see those benefits are those who have family members in the autism spectrum.”
Peter Bell, Autism Speaks’ executive vice president for programs and services, said, “Autism Speaks applauds Senator Menendez for holding the federal government accountable to the autism community as it implements health care reform. Behavioral health treatments for autism were included in the 2010 Affordable Care Act as an 'essential health benefit' at the approval of Congress. Senator Menendez, along with many other colleagues in both the Senate and the House have been emphatic that HHS require the states to incorporate the coverage as they implement the law."
In recent guidance issued to the states, HHS identified several benchmark plans the states could use as they work towards a 2014 deadline to implement the Affordable Care Act.
“I am concerned that HHS’ recent bulletin on the essential benefits health package refers to states using a benchmark plan as the basis for the essential benefits health package,” Menendez told Sebelius. “But because of the current patchwork of state autism coverage requirements and exemptions, I know I’m not alone in the serious concerns that the benchmarking plan is insufficient to assure that behavioral treatment is available to all qualified health plans as the law dictates it to be.”
Menendez previously had issued a letter to Secretary Sebelius identifying similar concerns and stressing that behavioral health treatments for autism were required by law by Congress. To date, 29 states representing 70% of the U.S. population have enacted autism insurance reform laws that require state-regulated health plans provide coverage for evidence-based autism therapies including behavioral health treatments.
Cuz if not this dont mean shit to me. I was totally against it. I agree w emma.
Quoting badgermom2012:
My son was approved for SSI some time ago. A lot of families with kids on the spectrum end up on SSI, Medicaid or CHIP b/c private insurance will not cover everything we need. The new law won't force private companies to cover autism & related therapies as far as I know.
Quoting MomOfOneCoolKid:
Quoting badgermom2012:
Yeah, I don't know what the answer is or how this will play out. So far it hasn't helped my family. We had a private policy and the company refused to cover anything related to autism, so we had to take our son off and apply for SSI. Meanwhile, me and my husband's premiums have gone up. I don't know that this legislation will really do anything to help families with autism.
I'm pretty sure that under the new law, you can apply for subsidies for insurance premiums.
I don't even know who you would ask, to be honest.... i'll try to investigate for you my friend :)
Yes it would. It would force insurance companies to pay for approved autism related therapies. That is, ABA would be covered but a new skin creme for autism wouldn't. Things that are not considered experimental. ABA is not considered experimental anymore. SP, OT, PT would be covered.
Quoting Jenn8604:
so let me get this straight. because of this my son WILL BE RECEIVING ABA AUTOMATICALLY?
Cuz if not this dont mean shit to me. I was totally against it. I agree w emma.
Yes. 2014. Maybe our kiddos will have to wait, but future families will not.
Quoting jaydensmom1726:
from what i understand medical stuff is not suposed to have a negitavie impact on your credit
No, I'm sorry. As of right now, it does affect your score. :(
How Medical Debt can Affect Credit Scores - http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/overview/information/medical-debt-credit-score.aspx
You should contact the three credit bureaus and they can give you a free credit report -- but they won't give you your own credit score! Absurd! You have to pay for that! There are other companies who can do that for you. Banks, freecreditreport.com... at a price to be sure. I know if you are part of Bank of America, its like $12.
Anyways, I hope I helped a bit :(
my credit was toast from more than that i lost my job cuz i ran out of fmla time
Quoting MomOfOneCoolKid:
Quoting jaydensmom1726:
from what i understand medical stuff is not suposed to have a negitavie impact on your credit
No, I'm sorry. As of right now, it does affect your score. :(How Medical Debt can Affect Credit Scores - http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/overview/information/medical-debt-credit-score.aspx
You should contact the three credit bureaus and they can give you a free credit report -- but they won't give you your own credit score! Absurd! You have to pay for that! There are other companies who can do that for you. Banks, freecreditreport.com... at a price to be sure. I know if you are part of Bank of America, its like $12.
Anyways, I hope I helped a bit :(
Quoting MomOfOneCoolKid:
Quoting Jenn8604:
so let me get this straight. because of this my son WILL BE RECEIVING ABA AUTOMATICALLY?
Cuz if not this dont mean shit to me. I was totally against it. I agree w emma.
Yes. 2014. Maybe our kiddos will have to wait, but future families will not.
That would be great for a lot of families obviously. We'll have to see how it plays out. I'm no expert but I have read several articles on the internet, and to me it just seems like it promises more than it will deliver. I'm a political independent and pretty skeptical about both sides, so it's not like I'm an Obama-hater or anything.
Quoting MomOfOneCoolKid:
Quoting badgermom2012:
My son was approved for SSI some time ago. A lot of families with kids on the spectrum end up on SSI, Medicaid or CHIP b/c private insurance will not cover everything we need. The new law won't force private companies to cover autism & related therapies as far as I know.
Quoting MomOfOneCoolKid:
Quoting badgermom2012:
Yeah, I don't know what the answer is or how this will play out. So far it hasn't helped my family. We had a private policy and the company refused to cover anything related to autism, so we had to take our son off and apply for SSI. Meanwhile, me and my husband's premiums have gone up. I don't know that this legislation will really do anything to help families with autism.
I'm pretty sure that under the new law, you can apply for subsidies for insurance premiums.
I don't even know who you would ask, to be honest.... i'll try to investigate for you my friend :)
Yes it would. It would force insurance companies to pay for approved autism related therapies. That is, ABA would be covered but a new skin creme for autism wouldn't. Things that are not considered experimental. ABA is not considered experimental anymore. SP, OT, PT would be covered.
Thanks for posting this. I'm not too political but have been meaning to read more on all of this. Good article! I happen to currently be uninsured and pay out of pocket when things go wrong... luckily we've not had anything too huge. I'm actually looking forward to this. Hoping to get some affordable medical!
Sometimes I feel DD will never be able to be on her own :( (accidentally posted in another group as well)
- MomOfOneCoolKid
on Jun. 28, 2012 at 8:17 PM