Attn: Autism Parents in Florida, USA

I agree with you. Autism is a medical condition recognized by the state as a disability. However many insurance do not cover or should I say "try to hassle the parents and doctors around" so they can get out of paying. And it is up to the parents to speak up, do their homework and get know your rights. I personally requested speech from my insurance 5 times before It was approved. I requested it as a medical condition and it was denied becuase insurance claims they only approve if it is a injury to the brain from an accident and autism is not covered under medical but under mental --- they gave me a lot of run around and medical blah. blah. blah. I went online and found out about AB88 in California- called my insurance again. Still they refused to approve for speech. I called the autism society and asked them to define AB88 for me. it was explained to me clearly. I called the insurance again and ask for the supervisor to explain to me why my claim was denied? why was it denied when the doctor listed teh correct medical problm autism. Under medical billin code 299.00- according to the insurance code, they don't pay for speech when doctors use this code. But according to Ab88 this code is covered for speech. So I refuse to hang up and kept insisting for someone to explain to me why AB88 was signed and why they refused and under what terms they refused. I gave them links to the bill and told they are mandated to provide my daughter with speech under this term. i explain that under the state rule, autism is a medical condition that should get the same service as anybody that received services due to accidents, birth defects etc. My story goes on for a long time. I was on the phone for over 2 hours- 3 days in a row. Finally one week later, I got my referral authorization in the mail. I was a happy camper. Luckily enough I did not have to go to court to get the insurance to do this. i hope all parents needing speech find this information helpful.