Sarah Mirando  |  July 12, 2011

Category: Legal News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Class Action Settlement News!

CIGNA Hit with Class Action Lawsuit Over ABA Therapy Denial

By Sarah Pierce

 

CIGNA InsuranceParents of autistic children have become increasingly frustrated with insurance companies that routinely deny insurance coverage for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy – a scientifically proven form of autism treatment for children. It’s not surprising, then, that some parents are fighting back, including a Philadelphia father of an autistic child who has brought a national class action lawsuit against CIGNA Insurance over its policy of denying insurance coverage for ABA therapy.

Kristopher Churchill alleges in his ABA therapy class action lawsuit that CIGNA has a nationwide policy of classifying ABA as experimental, and therefore not providing insurance coverage for this therapy. Churchill claims in the suit that the classification of ABA therapy as experimental violates federal laws governing insurance plans.

According to the CIGNA ABA therapy class action lawsuit, ABA is a well-recognized and scientifically valid form of autism treatment for children. Numerous authorities and organizations have supported using ABA to treat autism, including the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Institute of Mental Health. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that the effectiveness of ABA “has been well documented through 5 decades of research;” and 26 states, including Pennsylvania, mandate insurance coverage for ABA-type autism treatments.

This is the same argument used in other ABA therapy insurance class action lawsuits, including one filed against Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield last December (see “Blue Cross Autism Treatment Class Action Lawsuit”). The argument successfully lead to at least one ABA therapy class action settlement in a separate class action lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield in April 2010 (see “Blue Cross Blue Shield Ordered to Pay for Autism Treatment”).

The lawyers representing Churchill in the CIGNA ABA therapy class action lawsuit are the same lawyers who obtained final approval of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Autism treatment settlement.  They are also representing thousands of military beneficiaries seeking coverage of ABA therapy from the Department of Defense and its insurer, TRICARE. In March 2011, a federal court in Washington D.C. granted class action status to the military beneficiaries in that case, Berge v Department of Defense, et al.

The CIGNA Insurance ABA denial class action lawsuit is Kristopher Churchill v. CIGNA Corporation, et al., Case No. 2:2010-cv-06911, Pennsylvania Eastern District Court.

 

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

 

Updated July 12th, 2011

 

All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions

LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2010 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners.

One thought on CIGNA Hit with Class Action Lawsuit Over ABA Therapy Denial

  1. lester rogers says:

    denied me cobra coverage and then sent a former coworker to assault me, had my house robbed of $5000 worth because the EEOC made them pay my medical bills

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.