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Resident urges San Juan County to help families denied ABA therapy by insurer
Summary
A Monosell resident told commissioners Select Health is denying ABA therapy locally, leaving families to travel long distances for services. She asked the county to help advocate for access and distributed a handout with details.
Tiana Frost of Monosell told the San Juan County Commission on June 16 that families in the county lack local ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapy services for children with autism and that Select Health, the predominant insurer in the area, is actively denying coverage.
"Select Health is the main insurance in our area and there is no active services and they are fighting ABA ... They are actually actively denying it," Frost said. She said she has three autistic children and that six to 10 families are on a wait list. Frost said many providers up north will not accept clients who must travel long distances and that telehealth is not an adequate substitute for hands‑on ABA therapy.
Frost distributed a handout explaining where services are available, what county residents are struggling with and possible actions the county could take. She asked the commission to help "fight the insurance" and to support local providers to expand services into the county.
The commission thanked Frost and noted staff can assist with follow‑up if she wants additional information or a referral for further discussion.
