Hello everyone, I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything, let alone another comic, but I want to report some GOOD NEWS as starting October 1st of this past year, Autism is now be covered by Insurance in my home state of Michigan, thanks to the Autism Insurance Reform Bills that passed the House!
I could not be happier to report that my
very first comic (pictured above), now no longer applies in Michigan.
I want to say THANK YOU, so very much to everyone who made phone calls, sent e-mails, wrote letters, signed petitions, participated in the Autism walks, or in any other way lent their support to this issue and this legislation.
And if you happen to live in Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Washington D.C. or Wyoming all I can say is
KEEP PUSHING! Keep the pressure on the politicians and it CAN HAPPEN! It's a marathon for sure, not a sprint, but progress will be made when people work together and never give up. 30 States down - 20 (+ D.C.) to go!
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Comments (1)
Thank you for your post (and comic). We live in Massachusetts, where our law went into effect just over a year ago. I have often said that during the first few years of my son's life, especially right before and for some time after his diagnosis, he needed his own personal secretary... IF we could afford it after paying for all of his services! But seriously, it was such a blessing to know that we had the help from the insurance company to help alleviate some of the costs. IT HASN'T BEEN EASY to get our insurance approval... first we needed our pediatrician's "letter of medical necessity," then we needed to find an agency that took insurance, then we had to wait for that agency to get the a number from the state as a provider under the new law, then we had to have him reassessed by the agency to prove to the insurance company that he still needed the services (as if miraculously he wouldn't need them anymore), then they had to submit their treatment plan to the insurance company to get that approved... four months later we had someone working with us. I don't want to sound pessimistic, I just want to make sure people understand that even with the laws in place we have to fight for what our children need. But the fight is SO WORTH IT!!! My son now gets weekly Floortime/ABA at home (on top of what he gets at school), unlimited number of Speech Therapy sessions per calendar year (as long as it's needed) and something like 100 sessions of Sensory Integration Occupational Therapy services per year. We're also now hooked up with a developmental pediatrician and a child psychiatrist who monitor his progress. ALL covered by insurance. We pay the copays, which can add up but nothing compared to what we were facing before the law. PEOPLE IN STATES WITHOUT THIS INSURANCE COVERAGE NEED TO KEEP FIGHTING AND PUSHING!!!!! Our kids are worth that and more! Congratulations Michigan!!!
Blessings!
DC