autism

But a separate lawsuit, brought against the Public Employees Benefit Board, burns on, as the state of Oregon argues that the mental health parity law doesn’t apply to it. Meanwhile, the Health Evidence Review Commission is expected to approve applied behavior analysis for the Oregon Health Plan at its meeting later this week.

June 17, 2013 — Paul Terdal is not a lawyer, and he never intended on learning the Oregon insurance code backwards and forwards, but his sons have autism, and his health insurance company — Kaiser Permanente — wouldn’t pay for their prescribed treatment, applied behavioral analysis.

April 19, 2013 — A landmark bill regarding autism passed the Senate Health Committee unanimously Thursday, paving the way for insurance coverage of a specialized treatment that supporters say will help severely handicapped autistic children live more functional lives.

July 24, 2012 -- Advocates have strengthened their hand in seeking additional insurance coverage for applied behavioral analysis (ABA) treatment. Throughout the West Coast, they’ve achieved victories in the court system and, in Oregon, are focusing their attention on legislative changes.

May 15, 2012 -- Two attorneys who’ve successfully sued insurance companies for failing to pay for autism treatments held a workshop in Portland last week to help families struggling with the same situation.

May 7, 2012 -- Although Oregon’s next legislative session is 10 months away, work is already beginning on legislation to establish requirements for health insurance coverage of autism spectrum disorders and streamline the process of obtaining care.A closed door work session was held at the Capitol on May 1, and included legislators, insurance industry representatives and autism advocates such as Portland resident Paul Terdal, the father of two autistic sons.

November 30, 2011 -- Researchers at OHSU are developing a toolkit to deal with the barriers faced by people with autism in the healthcare system.