Editorial
I would not be alarmed if insurance companies have an actual policy to ignore and deny appeals until their clients collapse from frustration and exhaustion.
This is more about principal than money. What we could potentially collect in insurance reimbursement for the treatment itself is a fraction of the actual expense considering travel, lodging and lost work. Ironically, there is a HBOT chamber at a hospital one hour from us, but without insurance coverage its off-label use is prohibitively expensive for mere mortals.
Research is finally being done in this area. It could some day put an end to battles such as these and improve the lives of millions of special needs children and adults worldwide. Just last month a new controlled, randomized, double-blind study of autistic children was announced that demonstrated HBOT improved their condition. Click here for an overview.
To see HBOT having a measurable effect on this mysterious disease only supports our personal experience with Miranda, whose own diagnoses and symptoms dovetail many symptoms of the paradoxical autism.
Some of the best work is being done in the military, where HBOT is now being used as a treatment for returning, brain-injured soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. A request is before congress for $10 million to perform a formal study.
HBOT isn't for everyone or every condition, and it does have its risks. But to take it off the table as an option -- isn't an option. By parents educating doctors (many of whom have still never heard of using HBOT to treat neurological disorders) on alternative treatments and cutting-edge research, we can help speed the march to the inevitable: HBOT as a recognized treatment for brain damage, cerebral palsy, autism, stroke and another neurological disorders, when appropriate.
More research needs to be done and science will take its course at its usual glacial pace. Unfortunately, parents of special needs children don't have the luxury of time. And when there is individual proof of benefit -- especially when the parents have shouldered the initial financial risk -- insurance companies need to step to the plate and fulfill their role in the process. It's not only in the interest of the patient, but often in the financial interest of insurance companies that would otherwise be obliged to pay for a lifetime of more conventional (and more expensive) treatments that could potentially be unnecessary following HBOT.
As paying clients of these dense bureaucracies, it's our duty to remain persistent in our pursuit of what's fair and logical. Insurance companies might someday discover covering HBOT is good business practice.
It's also important for patients to inform their doctors. Doctors are not infallible. They are as susceptible to "conventional wisdom" as we civilians. Doctors are human beings who cannot possibly keep pace with research on every conceivable diagnoses or treatment. They are right to be skeptical, but wrong to be closed-minded.
Stay tuned. I update this site often as Miranda's story continues to unfold.
Meanwhile, please delve into these informative links.
