Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal.
On one hand, ABA has a long history of being an incredibly abusive, cruel form of “therapy” often performed by untrained and unlicensed staff that subject children to excessive hours of being trained like an animal and is cited by many autistic adults as what caused them to develop PTSD.
On the other, United and other health insurers refuse to pay for basically any other form of therapy for autistic kids because they claim it’s also not necessary or unproven.
In the end, it’s autistic people and our families who get fucked over, no matter what direction you go in.
On one hand, ABA has a long history of being an incredibly abusive, cruel form of “therapy” often performed by untrained and unlicensed staff that subject children to excessive hours of being trained like an animal and is cited by many autistic adults as what caused them to develop PTSD.
On the other, United and other health insurers refuse to pay for basically any other form of therapy for autistic kids because they claim it’s also not necessary or unproven.
In the end, it’s autistic people and our families who get fucked over, no matter what direction you go in.