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The mother of an autistic child joined Consumer Watchdog and its attorneys today to announce a lawsuit against the California Department of Managed Health Care ("DMHC"), the Schwarzenegger Administration agency responsible for regulating many of California's health insurers. The suit alleges that the DMHC has wrongfully allowed insurance companies to refuse to pay for autism treatments, resulting in the denial of critically needed, medically necessary treatment for autistic children.
Governor Schwarzenegger, who appointed the current Director of the DMHC, has received $711,200 in campaign contributions from Blue Cross, Kaiser and Blue Shield -- three health insurers regulated by the DMHC that commonly deny coverage for autism treatments.
The DMHC's actions upholding heath insurance denials for medically necessary autism treatment puts children at risk by forcing parents to seek treatment through over-stretched taxpayer-funded programs, or to forgo treatment altogether.