[Note: Shared for #AutisticHistory archive purposes. This is NOT An Autistic Ally.]
Autism Coverage For Federal Employees Makes Advances
November 08, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC (November 8, 2013) — More insurance carriers participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) will provide autism benefits in 2014, including the first carrier serving most of northern Virginia. However, many gaps in coverage remain in the FEHB program which is the nation’s largest employer-sponsored health benefits program, covering 8.2 million federal employees, retirees and dependents.
The Office of Personnel Management, which manages the FEHB program, urged its participating providers in 2012 for the first time to include autism benefits, including coverage for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), starting with their 2013 policies. This year, OPM directed participating providers to either cover ABA or explain why they were not including the benefit.
Enrollment for 2014 starts November 11. Full state coverage will be available in four states (Arkansas, New Mexico, West Virgina and Wisconsin); partial coverage will be available in 16 states indicated in dark green below. Find your state on the list below to find the participating plans for 2014. This analysis is intended only as a guide; FEHB members need to carefully review their plan offerings.
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
FLORIDA
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
LOUISIANA
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MISSOURI
NEVADA
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
OHIO
PENNSYLVANIA
TEXAS
VIRGINIA
WEST VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
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Note/Warning:
Autistic people have fought the inclusion of ABA in therapy for us since before Autism Speaks, and other non-Autistic-led autism organizations, started lobbying legislation to get it covered by insurances and Medicaid.
ABA is a myth originally sold to parents that it would keep their Autistic child out of an institution. Today, parents are told that with early intervention therapy their child will either be less Autistic or no longer Autistic by elementary school, and can be mainstreamed in typical education classes. ABA is very expensive to pay out of pocket. Essentially, Autism Speaks has justified the big price tag up front will offset the overall burden on resources for an Autistic’s lifetime. The recommendation for this therapy is 40 hours a week for children and toddlers.
The original study that showed the success rate of ABA to be at 50% has never been replicated. In fact, the study of ABA by United States Department of Defense was denounced as a failure. Not just once, but multiple times. Simply stated: ABA doesn’t work. In study after repeated study: ABA (conversion therapy) doesn’t work.
What more recent studies do show: Autistics who experienced ABA therapy are at high risk to develop PTSD and other lifelong trauma-related conditions. Historically, the autism organizations promoting ABA as a cure or solution have silenced Autistic advocates’ opposition. ABA is also known as gay conversion therapy.
The ‘cure’ for Autistics not born yet is the prevention of birth.
The ‘cure’ is a choice to terminate a pregnancy based on ‘autism risk.’ The cure is abortion. This is the same ‘cure’ society has for Down Syndrome.
This is eugenics 2021. Instead of killing Autistics and disabled children in gas chambers or ‘mercy killings’ like in Aktion T4, it’ll happen at the doctor’s office, quietly, one Autistic baby at a time. Different approaches yes, but still eugenics and the extinction of an entire minority group of people.
Fact: You can’t cure Autistics from being Autistic.
Fact: You can’t recover an Autistic from being Autistic.
Fact: You can groom an Autistic to mask and hide their traits. Somewhat. … however, this comes at the expense of the Autistic child, promotes Autistic Burnout (this should not be confused with typical burnout, Autistic Burnout can kill Autistics), and places the Autistic child at high risk for PTSD and other lifelong trauma-related conditions.
[Note: Autism is NOT a disease, but a neurodevelopmental difference and disability.]
Fact: Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism.
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