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Insurance Planning for Neurodiverse Needs

We know why you are here and you have come to the right place!

You or someone you know has unique insurance needs related to healthcare, long-term care, critical illness, home and auto, disability, or even just life insurance, and doesn’t know how to have these needs met. We’ve seen it a million times before. These are needs that are specific to your situation and circumstances and that are causing all sorts of issues you don’t know how to resolve. Let’s say you have unique healthcare needs that arose recently due to the return of a chronic illness or a sudden injury. Now you are looking to get the most out of your healthcare coverage, and you’ve found how surprisingly difficult that can be. We at Planning Across the Spectrum know the insurance system inside and out, and as disabled individuals ourselves, we understand the importance of insurance coverage of all kinds for unique needs. You’re right that you can get more out of your insurance coverage. In fact, more often than not, with right experience, expertise, and care, it is likely that you can find insurance plans that work for you and cover your unique needs. You can learn more about what we do below and reach out to us to work with a licensed professional on getting the most out of your insurance coverage!

Neurodiverse Insurance Planning is Never Simple, but We’re Not Going to Let That Stop You from Living Your Best Life

Insurance planning for unique needs is not easy, and that’s why we’re here to help. The first thing to understand when discussing insurance plans is that even seemingly similar plans can have major differences when you look closely. While a need such as mental health coverage might be commonly covered by healthcare plans, that doesn’t mean it’s covered in every plan, and that doesn’t mean it’s equally accessible across the plans it’s covered in. Another example is that different every Term Life Insurance Coverage may look similar except for the cost, but flexibility and what can be added to a plan can vary greatly for each different Term Life Insurance Coverage. A final example is Home and Auto which often gains a deeper importance when raising neurodiverse children. Neurodivergent teenagers who are learning to drive greatly benefit from plans that put the right amount and right type of insurance in place for them as individuals. This is so important because an individual with Down Syndrome or Autism may have their own unique set of services, and they need a series of insurance plans that work together to cover all of them. They also need to have an understanding of how to utilize the benefits of their plans.

Understanding how to utilize one’s plan and how accessible certain services in their insurance plans are is crucial. With healthcare coverage, this can mean everything from knowing which doctors you can see, to what your plan considers a “Medical Necessity,” and how to estimate the cost of a plan going forward. Meanwhile, the utilization of a life insurance plan is much more straightforward as it only activates in very specific circumstances. The information that someone enrolling in an insurance plan needs to know is very situational as it is often completely unique to their current needs. Understanding how to utilize an insurance plan can also be as simple as understanding the important differences between liability, risk, exposure, and vulnerabilities. These are some of the many reasons it can be very valuable to work with someone, such as a Licensed Professional at Planning Across the Spectrum, to find the plans that work best for you.

We Care About What’s Important to You

If someone is looking to get the most out of their insurance coverage, especially if they have unique family needs that must be covered or addressed, we suggest starting by looking at what plans are available to that person. This means looking at what insurance plans they are currently enrolled in or have in place. The insurance plans that a person is on speak to their current situation, what options are available to them, and what their potential next steps are. If someone is enrolled in Medicaid for instance changing healthcare plans is a much different process than for those enrolled in Medicare, Medicare Advantage, or an individual or group healthcare plan. The plans you are eligible or qualify for can affect not just the options you have access to, but also the costs of those options. For individuals with disabilities such as ADHD, OCD, or an intellectual disability, consistently receiving care is vital for living a happy and healthy life. Before changing plans, it is important to look at what needs to continue to be covered, as well as what new opportunities are available. Getting the most out of your insurance consistently comes down to being able to understand and navigate what insurance coverage options are right for you.

We’ll Help You Find the Right Plan, Stress and Confusion Free

After discussing what plan options you have available, we need to discuss what is important to you as a person. Many people we talk to need to have a very thorough understanding of their plans because they have unique needs which require unique and consistent services. This means they are routinely navigating different types of insurance to have their needs fulfilled. This includes navigating health, life, disability insurance, and more to find the things they want to prioritize. Some prioritize behavioral health services, others prioritize occupational therapy, long-term care coverage, income replacement, survivorship policies, or even just regular doctors’ visits. Once we know what is important to you, we can start discussing what the insurance plans that you have access to can and cannot cover. These can be very difficult conversations, but they are crucial for getting the most out of your insurance coverage and accomplishing your objectives and goals, even if it’s not everything you want. This often means prioritizing what matters most if there are no plans that fit the exact coverage you are looking for. However, it often doesn’t come to that, and with enough conversations and hard work, plans are often found that can work together to cover a majority of your current needs. At Planning Across the Spectrum believe focusing on the priorities allows us to find the plans that work best for our clients. Our clients know that, and it’s why they continue to work with us as they build their future.

Reach Out! And Let’s Make the Most of Your Neurodiverse Healthcare Options

At Planning Across the Spectrum, insurance planning is all about how we can use insurance to improve your quality of life and the quality of life of your loved ones. As we like to say “Cost should never be in the driver’s seat when it comes to insurance planning, the focus should always be on getting the best benefits for the life you want to live”

Let’s work together and build the life you want to live.

Medicare and Medicaid

Medicaid is a state and federal program that provides health coverage if you have a very low income. In most states, if your child qualifies for SSI, they automatically qualifies for Medicaid.

While Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides monthly income to help offset costs associated with a particular disability, Medicaid provides access to health care coverage that individuals and families otherwise could not access. For children with disabilities, Medicaid provides families access to speech, occupational and physical therapy, and behavioral health services and has no premiums, co-pays, or deductibles. Medicaid adds to any existing coverage the child has, such as private insurance. Therefore, if your child has private insurance, that must be used before you can use Medicaid benefits. For children with autism and other disabilities, there may be physical and behavioral health care needs. Behavioral health care refers to treatment that helps persons with mental health, emotional/behavioral disorders, and drug/alcohol issues.

Medicare is a federal program that provides health coverage if you are 65 and older or have a severe disability, no matter your income.