When Matt Crockett's 2-year-old son Mark was diagnosed with autism, the Air Force Reserve technician assumed his government insurance would help cover the cost of the treatment.
He discovered the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) encourages — but does not require — insurance carriers to cover the cost of the leading treatment for autism. In fact, only 23 states offer federal health insurance plans that cover Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, which leaves federal employees trapped in a patchwork of coverage that costs tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Federal employees can receive coverage for ABA therapy if they live in certain states. Crockett, however, lives in Washington state and cannot get an FEHBP plan that covers it.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Federal Employee Coverage
The Federal Employee Health Benefit Program plans operate under federal law and are thus exempt from state coverage mandates -- such as the laws requiring covering of ABA. Andy Medici reports at The Federal Times:
