I have a few questions and thought someone out there might know some of the answers. I live outside of Harrisburg, PA. My 4 year old was dx last year with Autism. Does this mean that he can be covered under state government program for health? Or SS for that matter? Is Autism classified as disabled?

My Mother told me not to apply for anything because it would be stuck with my child forever. Even if he wasn't dx with Autism in the future.
Is that true?
And do I have to meet a salary requirement to get government healthcare for my son?
Thanks
Michelle

Hi Kolby,
I have twin 3 yr old boys who both have Autism. We applied for and got Social Security disability for both of them. We applied in Sept. and were approved by Oct. They take into account the parents income and assets. They ask about the cars you own. If you have 2 vehicles, one of them must be valued at less than $2000. We also applied for Medicaid through our state (wisconsin). I don't know if the guidelines are different in every state, but here in Wisc., medicaid only looks at the child's income and assets, which must be less than $2000. The parent's finances are not considered. Medicaid helps us out alot. We have private insurance, which is billed first. Medicaid picks up deductibles, copays and, so far, pretty much anything that our insurance won't pay for. The hard thing about Medicaid is that I can't find information on exactly what they will and won't cover. As far as I know there is no handbook like you get through an insurance company. I do know, from making phone calls, that they will pay for 35 visits per lifetime of Speech Therapy, 35 visits of Physical Therapy and 35 visits of Occupational therapy. I was real excited about that until I found out that the school system has been billing Medicaid (using up some of those 35 visits) for the therapy they are providing for my sons. I was hoping that I could use those 35 sessions with another therapist and get additional help for my sons. Hope this helps! Karen

Oh this is probably a bad time for me to join in on this one since I already have hateful feelings toward my school district. I don't think they have the right to bill your insurance company for anything since OUR TAX DOLLARS pay for the public education our children receive. The school must provide a FREE and APPROPRIATE EDUCATION. As far as your insurance I would think YOU are entitled to use that at your discretion. Did you ever authorize them to access his insurance? If not, it doesn't sound legal to me.