Blue Cross Reverses Position on Autism After Federal Court Litigation Intensifies

Blue Cross Reverses Position on Autism After Federal Court Litigation
Intensifies

DETROIT, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- In federal court litigation, Johns v Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Case no. 08-cv-12272, Plaintiff Christopher
Johns contends that Blue Cross illegally denied behavioral therapy to his
autistic son, even though it was covered by his insurance policy. Plaintiff
alleged that Blue Cross claimed that such therapy was "experimental" even
though it was based on well-accepted scientific principles and was
administered by such prestigious hospitals as Beaumont Hospital. In fact,
during deposition testimony filed in federal court today, Blue Cross'
corporate representative and Medical Director, Dr. Calmaze Dudley, conceded
that applied behavioral therapy was supported by the prestigious American
Academy of Pediatrics and candidly admitted that he would want such therapy
for his own children, if they had autism:

Q. Based on your research and your investigation, if you had a child
with autism, would you want them to receive ABA therapy?

A. Probably.

In a motion filed today, seeking to compel Blue Cross to produce further
witnesses and documents, Plaintiff's attorney, Gerard Mantese, was confident
that he will establish that Blue Cross' defense to the lawsuit is meritless
and is contradicted by significant medical and scientific evidence of the
effectiveness of behavioral therapy.

After one year of federal court proceedings in the Johns case, Blue Cross
today announced that it was offering new coverage for the treatment of
children with autism. Plaintiff's attorney, Gerard Mantese, stated: "We are
pleased that the pressure of our lawsuit has caused Blue Cross to take a step
toward doing the right thing for these families. In fact, Blue Cross first
mentioned to us last year that it would be providing some treatment coverage
to autistic children, after we began filing papers in our federal court
lawsuit. We are confident that our litigation will cause Blue Cross to
provide further relief to families who have been arbitrarily denied coverage
for a scientifically established treatment that allows these children to
achieve greater levels of self-sufficiency."

For further information, please contact:

Gerard Mantese
Mantese and Rossman, P.C.
1361 E. Big Beaver Road
Troy, Michigan 48083
248-457-9200 (office)
248-515-6419 (cell)

SOURCE Mantese and Rossman, P.C.

Gerard Mantese, Mantese and Rossman, P.C., Office: +1-248-457-9200, Cell:
+1-248-515-6419