A Utah federal judge decided Sept. 19 Aetna is not required to cover members' wilderness therapy services, according to Law360.
Wilderness therapy is a treatment similar to residential mental healthcare, except programs are administered outdoors. The treatment has been the center of several legal battles, as families have filed lawsuits against commercial payers for refusing to pay for their children's wilderness treatment, according to a 2017 analysis from The Boston Globe.
The judge's decision allowed Aetna Life Insurance a quick win against a lawsuit filed by a family over the wilderness treatment coverage.
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