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CIGNA Hit with Class Action Lawsuit Over ABA Therapy Denial
By Sarah Pierce
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.
Updated July 12th, 2011
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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