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MIT Medical adds gender reassignment and autism therapy to employee plans

MIT Medical adds gender reassignment and autism therapy to employee plans

On Tuesday, Jul. 30, MIT Medical announced the addition of two new healthcare benefits to MIT employees who subscribe to an MIT medical plan.

These extended benefits cover Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy for the treatment of early childhood autism, as well as Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS) for the treatment of gender identity disorder.

The first of these benefits provides care for children ages three to six, an age group that is currently lacking in comprehensive autism treatment. Current programs provide early intervention to infants under the age of three and specialized education programs for school-age children, neglecting the age range in between.

These benefits will become available to employees and their dependents on Aug. 16, and MIT Medical is currently considering extending these benefits to MIT students and their dependents.

In addition, MIT is announcing a new long-term care enrollment option with a new insurer, Genworth Life Insurance Company, which it joined after prior insurer John Hancock stopped accepting new applications for coverage in Dec. 2011. Genworth’s open enrollment period for this new benefit runs from Sept. 16 to Oct. 4. More information will be distributed by mid-September. Be aware that this decision does not affect MIT employees with existing coverage through John Hancock.

—Madeline J. O’Grady