KC
I live in Maasachusetts and the EIP agency we use charges our insurance. If we did not have the insurance we would not be charged for the EIP. the agency we use is a private agency that is federally and state funded. Any funds they collect from insurance is applied to their program, this I feel benefits my son as well as other children enrolled in the program. Every little bit helps.

Elizabeth

They do this in NY. If you have coverage then they try to collect from your insurance. If you don't have coverage then they don't collect from anyone. I'm not sure about the law in your state but in NY any money collected can not be used to count against any limts on your policy. So if the policy says that you have a lifetime limit, the money paid to the county can't count against that.

I live in MN too. It seems like so long ago when we started that I just can't really remember what the school demanded. I do know that a social worker came when he was in the hospital and signed him up for MA. MN children who have a DS diagnosis received MA. It is an excellent insurance. The school district pays for some of Willie's treatments. When I choose to go to a different therapist MA pays. If you want to e-mail me, please do. I'd be happy to talk to you. Do you have a social worker or case manager?

Same sort of scenario out West in CA. The first place they go to is the HMO (which, I must say, has been pretty good so far - with no change in coverage from her birth), and then to the state, which has picked up the tab for some hearing testing, so far.
One of the things that I was scared to death about in the first few days of Emma's life, were fears about paying for medical care (she was in the NICU at the time). So far(17mos.), we really haven't seen any larger than normal expenses billed to us. We have had help, though, from a place called the Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled, as well as the ARC, in coordinating what she(and we) needed. We meet with a caseworker from the Regional Center every 6 mos. to make sure that all of the bases are covered.
I hope that some of this info helps - with your attitude, you'll get what you need. Keep it up!

I live in Texas and I remember when her EIP first came out to do the initial evaluation. They asked me if I had private insurance (I have an HMO). I said yes, and they asked me if I wanted to bill the insurance company. They told me that I didn't have to, but if I did, I would have to pay the co-pays. I opted not to bill the insurance company, but Kaitlyn still get free therapy.

Hope this helps.

When Sam & Patrick were in ECI, they asked consent to bill our private insurance and I declined. Let me tell you why: My insurance (Blue Cross PPO) has a "maximum lifetime benefit" payout of $1M. If anything happens, I'd rather have them covered for the medical, not have therapy services eat into that. Most HMO's don't have a "maximum lifetime benefit", but check your insurance coverage just to be sure!!! You never know when you may need that $$ for some catastrophic coverage.