In Oregon,
The Lund Report offers an update on a legal case:
Federal District Judge Michael H. Simon has approved the class-action status for autism advocates in their legal fight against Providence Health Plan over coverage of applied behavior analysis.
“The Court finds that Plaintiffs and all putative class members subscribe to Providence's group plan. The group plan contains an identical provision — the Developmental Disability Exclusion — that Providence concedes will continue to be applied to requests for ABA therapy going forward unless enjoined by this Court,” Simon wrote.
“All putative class members, therefore, have an interest in receiving an answer to the question of whether the Developmental Disability Exclusion is legal.”
The decision came on Christmas Eve, much like Santa Claus, for advocates of applied behavior analysis for autism, and it will allow their attorney to represent hundreds of children who have insurance through the Catholic health provider Providence, not just the two named in the lawsuit.
“[Simon] appeared to go item by item in the requirements of getting a class certified and found we had met every requirement,” said Keith Dubanevich, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs.
