Oct. 2001

MICROSOFT BECOMES THE 1st NATIONAL U.S. CORPORATION TO PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR BEHAVIOURAL TREATMENT OF AUTISM     ~ cont'd

The UW Autism Center was established in June of last year through a $5 million dollar donation by Microsoft Senior Vice-president Richard Fade and his wife, Susan, along with a matching gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. While the Fades, and many other families with autism in the Puget Sound region, have long seen a need for such a center, that need became crystallized in the initial discussions between Microsoft parents and company over establishing coverage for behavioral treatment. Microsoft needed assurances of quality care and controlled liability before it could risk creating an unprecedented new health benefit for a company of its size.

A tacit understanding was made between the Fades and company executives. If a center could be created which certified qualified providers, established best practices, and provided training of new providers so all employees' families could enjoy the new benefit, then Microsoft would do its best to work out the details with Aetna to cover treatment. Working closely with
Dr. Geraldine Dawson of the University of Washington, Microsoft Human Resources, and Microsoft families, Richard and Susan Fade established both the money and charter for the Autism Center. The center has already certified a number of providers serving children across the region. For Microsoft families, these services are fully covered with a 20% coinsurance charge.

Families played a large role in designing the benefit

Once the Autism Center provided a way to assure quality care, the hard work of finalizing the guidelines and restrictions for the new coverage fell on the Microsoft Benefits team. Michael Cochran, a Microsoft Benefits Manager, worked long, hard hours with Microsoft executives, the legal department, and Dr. Dawson and her staff at the Autism Center to establish the new rules. A key to the success was also deeply involving Microsoft parents.

Every aspect of the new coverage was reviewed, critiqued, and negotiated with parents. Mike knew the program wouldn't truly benefit families if the parents weren't intimately involved. When the final compromise was reached, families were thrilled with the coverage. While many families are still hopeful for extending the coverage past age seven, all are deeply grateful for the courageous steps taken by Microsoft to enhance its support of families in a whole new area, even in these difficult economic times.

Finding out more

If you are a media professional, health benefits professional, or corporate executive and would like to find out more about the Microsoft Applied Behavioral Analysis heath benefit, please contact Nicole Miller at Microsoft nicolm@microsoft.com.

If you are a parent, family member, or friend of a family with autism and would like ABA covered by your insurance, please forward this mail to your company's human resources department and/or your insurance provider and ask them to contact Microsoft and find out more about this coverage.

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