A Visual Aid on the Impact of Passage of the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act

A visual aid to show what impact the passage of S. 819 and/or H.R 2413
The Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts

in this 111th Congress would have:

A. States with passed legislation or statute that specify autism insurance reform,
current as of July 1, 2009.

15 STATES

Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana,
Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey [pending signature], New Mexico, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin

B. States that would have that coverage if S. 819 and/or H.R. 2413 ,
the Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts pass in the 111th Congress.
(In addition to pilot programs for teen transition and adult services).

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Don't forget to see the recent post on the CURRENT ACTION ITEM to contact our
Oregon Delegation to Congress and urge their support of the ATAA.
Thank you for your participation and action!

We can do it and we can get there.

ACTION ALERT: Autism Speaks Launches an Autism Treatment Acceleration Act (ATAA) Ad This Week and YOUR HELP NEEDED To Connect With Congress

This week, Autism Speaks is launching a major ad campaign supporting federal autism insurance reform with the goal to be the LOUDEST VOICE ON CAPITOL HILL and move these bills forward.

YOUR PARTICIPATION IS VITAL.

All of our voices are needed to make sure this ad
hits home for Oregon's Congressional Delegation!
In a state with one of the highest prevalence rates in the nation, it is imperative that they sign on and help our kids.

Click here to download a flyer with the information in this blogpost

Click on the picture for the full size ad

This ad campaign is being placed in various publications to raise awareness about the need for CONGRESS TO ACT on Federal autism insurance reform and for members of Congress TO BECOME CO-SPONSORS of the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act (ATAA), S. 819 in the U.S. Senate, and H.R. 2413 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

One key provision of the ATAA requires insurance companies from COAST TO COAST to provide coverage of medically necessary autism treatments, such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy.

Let's make sure that OUR Senators and Representatives SEE THIS AD OVER AND OVER AGAIN and HEAR FROM FAMILIES and friends of families affected by autism--EACH DAY THIS WEEK!

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HOW YOU CAN HELP
in 4 steps
Download-Fax-Follow up -Forward

1. Download and print out a copy of the Autism Speaks ATAA ad HERE!

2. FAX a personalized copy of the ad to our Federal Senators and House District Representatives!

After printing out a copy of the ad, find a good spot on the ad itself, or on a separate sheet of paper, to write a short personal message asking your Senators and House Representative to cosponsor thes bills, S.819 in the Senate and H.R. 2413 in the House.

BE SURE to include the bill number in your message.

Neither of our federal Senators, Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley, nor any other member of the Oregon Delegation to Congress has yet agreed to co-sponsor ATAA - S. 819/H.R. 2413, even though Representatives DeFazio, Wu and Blumenauer are members of the Congressional Autism Caucus.

To find the Fax and Phone information for Congressional Representatives

Senator Ron Wyden
Fax: 202-228-2717; Phone: 202-224-5244




Senator Jeff Merkley
Fax: 202-228-3997 Phone: 202-224-3753




Representative David Wu [District 1-Clatsop, Columbia, Washington, Yamhill and part of Multnomah.]
Fax: 202-225-9497 Phone: 202-225-0855



Representative Greg Walden [District 2-Baker, Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Grants Pass area of Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco and Wheeler.]
Fax: 202-225-5774 Phone: 202-225-6730


Representative Earl Blumenauer [District 3-Most of Multnomah and northern part of Clackamas]
Fax: 202-225-8941 Phone: 202-225-4811



Representative Peter DeFazio [District 4-Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane, Linn, most of Benton and Josephine.]
Fax: 202-225-0032 Phone: 202-225-6416



Representative Kurt Schrader [District 5-All of Lincoln, Marion, Polk and Tillamook, parts of northern Benton, most of Clackamas and parts of southwestern Multnomah]
Fax: 202-225-5699 Phone: 202-225-5711


3. Follow up with a phone call saying,

"Hi. My name is ________________. I am your constituent and live in (City, STATE). I am calling to be sure that you received a copy of the advertisement that I faxed to your office regarding the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act. I would like Senator/Congressman (Name) to cosponsor this important piece of legislation. The bill number is S. 819 (if you are calling a Senator) or H.R. 2413 (if you are calling a House Representative). Thank you so much. I will keep checking back to see if he/she has signed on because this is very important to me."

4. Forward this to as many people as you can, and ask them to do the same thing!
THEY DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A CHILD WITH AUTISM. Post on message boards in your state or forward to coworkers, neighbors, friends and family and ask them to help you help your child by pressing for appropriate insurance coverage for the premiums you pay!

Spread the word, get people involved and
watch our Representatives really start to sign up to help!

Click here to download a flyer with the information in this blogpost

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• For more information on the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act at Autism Votes
• To register for further alerts about the ATAA and other pertinent issues in our state
• Past blog posts on the Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts S. 819 & H.R. 2413

ACTION: How to take action on the federal Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts of 2009 (ATAA)

The below request has been sent out by Autism Votes, and never was a truer word said than,

"Health insurance reform is the buzz word in Washington, DC right now. We need to generate thousands of calls to be sure that our children's needs for access to the treatments and therapies that will help them are being heard!"

We have an opportunity, but we must keep OUR voices and concerns on the front burner and get these bills passed this Congressional session---so it is extremely important to keep in touch with our members of Congress and get them on-board with the ATAAs [S. 819, H.R. 2413].

Previous posts on the bills

• Friday, June 12, 2009
  A Shift in Gears from HB3000 to the Federal Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts

• Monday, June 1, 2009
  NEWSFLASH: Story in the Huffington Post on The federal Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts: S. 819 & H.R. 2413

Autism Votes CALL FOR ACTION

"We are ramping up our grassroots efforts for the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act and need your immediate attention and support on this issue!

You are receiving this email because you live in a state that worked hard this year to pass autism insurance reform at a state level. Your state legislative efforts have come to an end and you made significant gains this year! Congratulations on all your hard work.

Through this piece of federal legislation, we have the opportunity to end autism insurance discrimination once and for all from coast to coast!

We need your help to do that by calling the following people each day this week!

Health insurance reform is the buzz word in Washington, DC right now. We need to generate thousands of calls to be sure that our children's needs for access to the treatments and therapies that will help them are being heard!

Here's how YOU can help:

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1. CALL YOUR SENATORS IN CONGRESS AND ASK THEM TO CO-SPONSOR THE ATAA (Senate Bill 819)! You can find out who your senators are HERE - be sure to check here to see if they have already decided to co-sponsor the ATAA prior to calling by checking the list of co-sponsors. Your Senators have received a Dear Colleague letter from the bill's original sponsors which you can read here.

2. CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN AND ASK THEM TO CO-SPONSOR THE ATAA (H.R. 2413)! You can find out who your Congressman is HERE. Be sure to check here to see if they have already agreed to co-sponsor the legislation before you call them.

Not sure of what to say? It's easy! Just say this:

"Hi! My name is ____________. I am a constituent of yours and live in (City,State). I am calling to ask you to cosponsor the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act (give the appropriate bill number - Senate is S. 819 and House is H.R. 2413). We worked very hard to pass similar legislation as this in our state but were not able to do so this session. We need your help to end autism insurance discrimination. Thank you so much."

> Once you have completed your call, you can send emails to the Members of Congress HERE!

3. FORWARD THIS TO 20 OTHER PEOPLE THAT CAN HELP YOU! If you have ever heard someone say, "I wish there was something we could do to help (insert your child's name here)!", now they can. It is a cost effective way to truly help your child and the other children with autism not only in your state, but nationwide.

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We can do this!

For more information on the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act, please visit www.autismvotes.org/ataa.

Happy dialing!

Shelley Hendrix
Director of State Advocacy Relations
Autism Speaks

A Shift in Gears from HB3000 to the Federal Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts

First of all, I want to thank every last parent, family and supporter who threw their all into working on behalf of the passage of HB 3000, Oregon's Autism Insurance Reform Bill, by their articles, letters, testimony, talking to legislators and phone calls. Most bills do not make it as far as HB3000 did, and we gave it a good run and raised awareness of our kids and our issues!

Monday, June 8 was the last day for a hearing to be scheduled for HB 3000 in the Oregon House Rules Committee if it was going to continue in the legislative process. That hearing was not scheduled.

At this point the attention of this blog, and I hope your attention as a supporter of insurance fairness for our kids will shift to the Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts of 2009 in the U.S. Congress, which no doubt many already know about,

S. 819 :A bill to provide for enhanced treatment, support, services, and research for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families.

&

H.R. 2413,
To provide for enhanced treatment, support, services, and research for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families.

There are many fine opportunities that will be created for children, adults and families living with autism if these measures can pass in this 111th Congress, and one of them is the insurance fairness that we have been seeking on a state-by-state basis.

There'll be more to come in future posts, but for now I would like to point you to

• a previous post on these Federal bills, about why it's time for insurance equity for children with autism,
  
  
• the sidebar of this blog which has quicklinks to the texts and status of
  S. 819, H.R. 2413,
  as well as the TRICARE autism insurance bills specific to military families,
  H.R. 1600 and S. 1169 , and
  
  
• direct you to the information at Autism Votes about the Autism Treatment Acceleration Acts., and
  
  
• ask you to please contact your Congressional Senators and Representatives and
  urge them to co-sponsor and support S. 819 and H.R. 2413.
  

Again, thank you for the good fight on Oregon HB3000, your continued work on S. 819 and H.R. 2413, and for your continued support of improving things for our children and our families.

We can do it and we can get there.

NEWSFLASH: Story in the Huffington Post on The federal AutismTreatment Acceleration Acts: S. 819 & H.R. 2413

[Also see previous post on U.S. Resolutions, S. 819 & H.R. 2413. ]

The Autism Treatment Acceleration Act and the Autism Sandbox
Shelley Hendrix Reynolds
Posted: May 31, 2009 06:40 PM
Huffington Post

Please read the full article, but I want to highlight some cogent clauses made by Ms. Reynolds,

"...Despite dutifully paying premiums to insure against the unthinkable that their child could be diagnosed with a disease or disorder, most parents of children with autism cannot get appropriate coverage to treat their child's medical conditions. Not because these parents didn't act responsibly and do their part but because insurance did not do their part...

Why should you care about their plight as an average tax paying citizen without a child with autism? It directly affects your own checking account...

No one would dream of treating a child with a life threatening illness at any less than what the doctor recommends. No one would ever expect that the public education system to be responsible for curing that disease and yet, insurance companies do just that...shirk their accountability to the education system instead of providing children with appropriate coverage when they are toddlers making them more likely to be mainstreamed into a regular education setting. Providing access to these treatments saves tax payer's dollars, creates new job markets and most importantly, gives these children an opportunity to become tax payers themselves one day with independent lives via a fiscally responsible solution to a growing societal issue..."

See the full article at the Huffington Post

and for more information and TO ACT on the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act(s), see Autismvotes.