{"id":311738,"date":"2026-03-04T00:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T00:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/311738\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T00:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T00:49:13","slug":"insurer-backtracks-on-move-to-exclude-adhd-and-autism-treatment-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/311738\/","title":{"rendered":"Insurer backtracks on move to exclude ADHD and autism treatment cover"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

\nAutistic nonspeakers may use various strategies to manage the overload and lessen sensory distress.
\nPhoto: Unsplash \/ Naila Conita\n<\/p>\n

Southern Cross Health Insurance says ADHD and autism are once again covered under its policies, after an earlier decision to exclude them.<\/p>\n

RNZ reported last month<\/a> families were blind-sided by the decision, which left them without funding for treatment.<\/p>\n

At the time, the insurer said it was not a change in policy, but a “clarification” – as ADHD and autism were considered mental health conditions, they came under the mental health exclusion and were therefore not covered.<\/p>\n

But now, after a review of its diagnostic classification system, it told RNZ they were, in fact, classified as neurodevelopmental conditions, not mental health conditions, and accordingly the mental health exclusion did not apply.<\/p>\n

Regan Savage, chief sales and marketing officer for Southern Cross Health Insurance, said they undertook a review after feedback from clinicians, members and sector stakeholders highlighted uncertainty about how that November guidance to providers was being interpreted in practice.<\/p>\n

“That feedback informed a more detailed review to ensure our guidance is clear, consistent and aligned with both clinical understanding and our policies,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We appreciate the constructive engagement with our members and specialists that helped inform this review, and we are currently reviewing any claims that may have been affected.”<\/p>\n

Sign up for Ng\u0101 Pitopito K\u014drero<\/a>, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Autistic nonspeakers may use various strategies to manage the overload and lessen sensory distress. Photo: Unsplash \/ Naila…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[48,47,134,111,43,139,69,49,46,44,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-311738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-audio","9":"tag-current-affairs","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-podcasts","16":"tag-public-radio","17":"tag-radio-new-zealand","18":"tag-rnz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}