Sunday, June 29, 2008

Autism: Down to the Wire on Pennsylvania HB 1150 (July 2 Update!)

Looks like it's all going to work out just fine ...

HB 1150 Is Approved by the Pennsylvania House

(Harrisburg, PA - July 2, 2008) Last night, House Bill 1150, the autism insurance reform bill, was passed by the Pennsylvania House with at vote of 203-0. The bill had been returned to the House after being amended and passed by the PA Senate. The bill will now go back to the Senate floor for final passage.

From PA House Speaker Dennis O’Brien,

“I am proud to report that the House of Representatives today made a several small but fundamental improvements to House Bill 1150 that will strengthen its scope of mandated coverage for autism services. I can now say in confidence that House Bill 1150 is the best autism insurance reform bill in the country.

This success was made possible by the tireless efforts of hundreds of autism advocates from across the state and beyond who made their voices heard here in Harrisburg.
With your full support, I offered an amendment to include in this legislation precise definitions of mandated care. These definitions ensure than the bill will cover essential autism services, including those to prevent regression.

The House heard your voices, and accepted my amendment unanimously. In accordance with my agreement with Senate leaders, the Senate is expected to concur with my amendment and send the bill to the Governor Rendell for his signature in the next few days.

Thank you all – this bill was a long time in coming, and we could not have done it without your support

-Denny

Read the full text of the bill and read continuing updates at www.autismvotes.org/pennsylvania.

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Here's the latest on HB 1150. Please take action and stay tuned!

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Last evening the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee passed the autism insurance reform bill, 26-0, with the support of bill sponsor Senator Jane Orie. The Leadership of the Senate pledged a vote on the bill on the Senate floor on Sunday evening.

The vote was unanimous, with the Democrats enthusiastically joining the GOP majority, and the bill now moving forward, if signed into law, would be the strongest autism insurance mandate yet achieved in the nation.

The Pennsylvania bill provides $36,000 a year for Applied Behavior Analysis and other necessary treatments up to age 21, with no lifetime cap. It also creates a first ever, under Pennsylvania law, expedited appeals procedure for denied claims, as a safeguard to ensure the law is followed. The bill also turns the existing state welfare program for autism into a statutory requirement, to ensure that those who receive government provided services can continue to do so, while allowing for the development of a private sector delivery system with insurance reimbursement, offering families an alternative to coverage through Medicaid.

The Pennsylvania bill ends discrimination for individuals with autism, and provides them the same medical necessity standards as afforded individuals with cancer, diabetes, and the common cold, allowing individuals with autism to be treated as all others are in the private insurance market.

Individuals with autism deserve the same quality of care that all individuals with chronic and severe health conditions receive.

We have the utmost respect for Speaker of the House Dennis O’Brien. Speaker O’Brien has dedicated his career to improving the lives of individuals with autism. There would be no bill at all without Speaker O’Brien’s passionate leadership for these many years. We trust his judgment as to how the House should respond to the Senate bill.

Please call your own Senator and ask them to support HB 1150. Remind them of how important this is to your family.

For more information on HB 1150 and the latest developments in the Pennsylvania legislature, please stay tuned to www.autismvotes.org/pennsylvania .

Elizabeth Emken
Vice President of Government Relations
Autism Speaks
Posted by Judith U. at 12:10 PM
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4 comments:

Laura said...

What's the story behind the story on this one? I read on AP that Autism Speaks is being cast as the spoiler. I can't make heads or tails of this story.

June 30, 2008 2:13 PM
Judith said...

Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.
~Otto von Bismarck

Although some are trying to paint this as a good guy/bad guy situation, it's not. It's merely a difference of opinion on how to get meaningful legislation passed.

Here's hoping there's nothing but good press by the end of the week!

For the latest updates, go to
http://www.autismvotes.org/site/c.frKNI3PCImE/b.3936379/

June 30, 2008 9:03 PM
Judith U. said...

Here is some clarification of the issue from Jim Bouder, one of the key players in Pennsylvania.

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Friends:

I’ve been asked by many of you to say something about the situation that has arisen within the autism community in Pennsylvania. The situation is that together we have achieved this marvelous victory. Whatever differences we had in the past over strategy and tactics, those differences have resolved themselves in our joint accomplishment.

I believe, as a starting point, there are three facts we can all acknowledge: (1) Autism Speaks' actions helped facilitate the necessary release of HB 1150 from the Senate Banking & Insurance Committee and (2) Pennsylvania's parents and advocates succeeded in providing Speaker O'Brien with the additional grassroots support he needed in order to make the necessary changes to the legislation, and (3) HB 1150, the strongest autism bill in the nation, was signed into law by Governor Edward G. Rendell yesterday as Act 62 of 2008. If we can all take a step back and recognized that 1 + 2 = 3, then we can begin moving on together toward bigger and better things. While we can and probably will continue to struggle with the details surrounding 1 and 2, we should all be able to agree that getting to 3 is a very, very good thing.

There are many, many people who deserve our thanks - first and foremost to Speaker O'Brien, who continues to advocate for our children in Harrisburg with unequalled zeal, and his staff who did such a fine job supporting the Speaker's efforts behind the scenes. Also to Estelle Richman, who has quickly become a national leader in the quest to meet the needs of children with autism and, of course, Governor Rendell who has made passage of this legislation a priority for his Administration, and to those in the Departments of Welfare, State, and Insurance that devoted so much time to help us achieve our goals. In the Senate, Senator Orie is well deserving of our thanks, as is Senator White and his Chief of Staff, Joe Pittman, who also worked hard to make yesterday’s event a possibility. To my Vista family, you all have been remarkably supportive with both advice when I needed it and with patience at the times when this issue required my full attention. To Cindy Waelterman and Karen Woodings who did such a fine job getting the message out to the grassroots at the 11th hour. To Eric Scott who gained a grasp of the issues so quickly and provided much-valued assistance as we engaged in difficult negotiations with HB 1150's opponents. To all who submitted comments to HC4 or testified at the April 1 hearing. To every parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, neighbor, and advocate that picked up their phone or sent an email or a fax to your legislator, great thanks belongs to you too.

Over the course of the past year, I have developed friendships with four people who comprise the backbone of the Autism Speaks Government Relations team in Pennsylvania. I deeply appreciate the year I've spent working with Eric Settle. Eric is a skilled lobbyist and I learned much from him - much that I hope to take to my next project. I sincerely hope our paths cross again in the not-so-distant future. Stuart Spielman has been a consistent and thoughtful sounding board and his feedback increased the quality of my technical filings and testimony offered in support of HB 1150. Anyone who questions Stuart's integrity simply doesn't know Stuart. Shelley Hendrix taught me much about the formerly unfamiliar territory of managing a grassroots push. She championed Louisiana's counterpart to or legislation and it became law exactly one week before Governor Rendell signed HB 1150. Her commitment to children with autism is unquestionable. Without doubt, Elizabeth Emken had become a valued friend and ally whose vision, in many respects, runs parallel with mine. Her drive to see our nation become a more hospitable place for people with autism is admirable. They are much deserving of all of our thanks and I look forward to working with them in the future.

And last but certainly not least, I thank my family for their support and patience as I joined you all in doing this good work.

HB 1150 being signed into law yesterday was a day worth celebrating. Pennsylvania's families and policymakers working together with Autism Speaks for more than a year to advance HB 1150 to a place where its opponents no longer had any credible excuses to let it die. We answered every question, we jumped through every hoop, and we cleared every obstacle. HB 1150 becoming law is an achievement that we have much to take pride in.

Going forward, we all need to remember the collaborations that got us here and we need to rebuild them and make them stronger. I intend to do what I can over the course of the coming months to encourage a dialogue that promotes our coming together as friends and, eventually, as a collaborative unit.

If you took the time to pass along my action alerts, I ask that you forward this message as well.

With kind regards,

Jim Bouder

July 10, 2008 10:31 AM
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November 15, 2008 12:33 AM

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