2. Ideally, you will receive positive and helpful answers to the questions you pose in Step One. If you don’t, it may be time to change insurance providers. According to Christina Peck, the ideal type of health insurance for the parent of a child with autism is a PPO or Preferred Provider Organization. If you are covered under an HMO and can make a switch through your employer or on your own, Peck recommends you do so.
3. Get the details on coverage of specific therapies. Most children with autism will need physical, occupational and speech therapy. They may also need psychological, feeding, social and behavioral (ABA) therapy. Does your insurance company cover these therapies? If so, what are the deductibles? How much therapy is covered per year?
4. Get the details on coverage of supplies and equipment. If your child with autism needs an augmentative speech device or other equipment, the cost may be covered.
5. Know your insurance codes and units. Peck notes that all insurance companies use the same codes for the same diagnoses and therapies — but there are different codes for different units of time spent on those therapies. For example, 92507 is the code for one hour of speech therapy, but 97112 is the code for just 15 minutes of physical therapy. Be sure your therapists know which code is appropriate for their service, and how many units to charge for. Your physical therapist, for example, might need to charge for four units of therapy to cover the costs of a one-hour session.
6. Get creative in your insurance claims. Most insurance companies limit therapies as they relate to autism per se, but Peck suggests that parents think outside the “autism box” when making their claims. For example, she says, “Is your child getting Occupational or Physical Therapy because they have autism? Or is it because of hypertonia (low muscle tone)? Why should your therapist use the code for autism instead of coding for the actual issue involved?”
7. Organize your paperwork. Christina Peck, in her book Blessed with Autism, includes a set of worksheets you can use organize information about claims you’ve made, claims that are pending, and grievances you may have filed.
8. If you feel you have the right to insurance coverage based on your policy, and you are running into problems getting that coverage, consider resubmitting, following up on your claim and even filing a grievance. Through a combination of knowledge and assertive follow-up, you may be able to save a great deal of money over time.
9. Once you have a solid understanding of what your health insurance will cover, research your state’s offerings. Some states require that insurance companies cover autism-related claims; others offer services through the Department of Mental Health and Retardation. By mixing and matching insurance and state-funded coverage, you may find that many of your child’s services are covered.
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