ACTION ALERT: The moment to ACT on HB 3000 is NOW!

Dear Oregon Autism Families and Advocates,

Our state of Oregon has a legislative session every two years.
This Spring, states all around us -

• New Mexico,
• Montana,
• Colorado and, as recently as this past weekend,
• Nevada,

have passed autism insurance reform legislation to provide their states' children with autism access to therapy coverage through health insurance.

Unless we get some significant traction on Oregon HB 3000 NOW, Oregon's children with autism will have to wait another two years before reform legislation can even be introduced again. HB 3000 provides coverage for medically necessary, evidence based therapies and treatments prescribed by your child's treating physician including ABA therapy, speech and OT.

Today is the moment to ACT to get HB 3000 out of the House Rules Committee and onto the floor of the Oregon House so that the legislative process can continue. It is very easy and only takes five minutes of your time each day--everyone's help is needed!

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN HELP!

1. CONTACT HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN REPRESENTATIVE ARNIE ROBLAN AT 503-986-1409 and ask him to give HB 3000 priority for a hearing!

Not sure of what to say? Just say this:

"Hi, my name is _________________. I live in ______________, Oregon. I am calling to ask that you allow a hearing and vote on HB 3000, the autism insurance reform bill. Thank you so much."

2. CONTACT SPEAKER DAVE HUNT AT 503-986-1200 and ask him to ask Chairman Roblan to hold a hearing for HB 3000.
Speaker Hunt pulled HB 3000 out of the House Health Committee and placed it in the Rules Committee on our behalf--he gave this bill a fighting chance when we needed it, but we might need his help again to keep it on the move!

Not sure of what to say? Just say this:

"Hi, my name is ______________. I live in __________, Oregon. I want to thank you for giving the autism insurance reform bill, HB 3000, a second chance to become a law this session. I am calling to ask you to please speak to Chairman Roblan of the Rules Committee and urge him to move HB 3000 to a hearing so that it can make its way to the House Floor for a vote. Thank you so much!"

3. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN.

Ask them to do the same thing and call Chairman Roblan and Speaker Hunt. They don't have to have a child with autism. They only need to be willing to help, able to dial a phone and say something along the lines of what we have posted above! Send the message to your child's teachers and therapists, your neighbors and coworkers, your family members and friends.

Your goal is to get this request into the hands of at least 20 people you know who will make the calls to support your family, your child and other Oregon children with autism!

For more information on HB 3000, visit www.autismvotes.org/Oregon.

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Happy Dialing! Thank you for your support of Oregon's children with autism!

ACTION ALERT: HB 3000 may be going to hearing! Calls needed NOW!

An ACTION ALERT from Autism Votes to CALL
the members of the Oregon House Rules Committee.

"...it is possible that HB 3000 [insurance reform bill] will be heard in the Oregon House Rules Committee THIS WEEK. We need to refresh our Representatives' minds about autism insurance reform and ask them to vote YES on HB 3000..."

See full message below for phone numbers and followup.
------------

5/19/09 Autism Votes... It's time for lawmakers to listen.

Dear Oregon Autism Advocate,

It has been a while since we sent out a reminder but we just heard that it is possible that HB 3000 will be heard in the Rules Committee this week. We need to refresh our Representatives minds about autism insurance reform and ask them to vote YES on HB 3000.

We must pass the Rules Committee and then HB 3000 is on it's way to the House floor for a vote and one step closer to becoming a law! If the bill does not get out of the Rules Committee, we will not be able to get appropriate coverage for our children until the next session in 2011.

We need your help to make some noise and let the committee know how very much you want this bill to pass on through the legislative process! They are hearing from the insurance companies...they need to hear from you!

Here is How You Can Help:

1. CONTACT THE MEMBERS OF THE RULES COMMITTEE AND ASK THEM TO VOTE YES FOR HB 3000! We need you to contact the following people each day until we tell you to stop and ask them to vote YES on HB 3000. If you are a constituent, be sure to let them know.

> CALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE! Calls are way more important than emails. They need to hear your voices and we need their phones ringing off the hook!

Representative Arnie Roblan, Chair - 503-986-1409
Representative Vicki Berger - 503-986-1420
Representative Chris Edwards - 503-986-1414
Representative Bill Garrard - 503-986-1456
Representative Sara Gelser - 503-986-1416
Representative Bob Jenson - 503-986-1458
Representative Mary Nolan - 503-986-1436
Representative Tobias Read - 503-986-1427

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

"Hi! My name is _________________________. I am calling to ask Representative _____________ to vote YES on HB 3000 and to allow HB 3000 to go to the House Floor for a vote. Thank you so much!"

> CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW UP WITH AN EMAIL TO ALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS! You don't need to know their email addresses, our system will send the email for you. It's easy!

2. MULTIPLY YOUR EFFORTS BY RECRUITING 20 PEOPLE YOU KNOW TO CALL TOO -- JUST FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO THEM! We need to multiply our grassroots efforts exponentially over the course of the next few days and generate thousands of calls. Please forward this to anyone who can help make calls to the committee to ask them to vote YES for HB 3000. They do not have to have a child with autism to be supportive! Think outside the box to neighbors, family members, friends, coworkers - anyone you know who lives in Oregon who would make these calls for your child.


For more information on HB 3000 visit www.autismvotes.org/Oregon!

Keep dialing Oregon. Let's get this done for our kids this year!

Shelley Hendrix
Director of State Advocacy Relations
Autism Speaks

NEWSFLASH: Actuarial Cost Estimate for HB 3000

Don't forget that HB 3000 is in the House Rules Committee--
we need to keep contacting them!
Also see the "FAQs when talking to elected officials".
Thanks for your efforts in supporting HB 3000.
------------------
May 18, 2009
Actuarial Cost Estimate: Oregon House Bill 3000
[if you have difficulty downloading or viewing the cost estimate: try this link]
A Bill for an Act Relating to Autism Spectrum
Disorder- Creating New Provisions and
Amending ORS 414.710 and 743A.190

OLIVER WYMAN
Prepared By:
Marc Lambright, FSA, MAAA
25 Pages.

See also, Oregon's page at Autism Votes
http://www.autismvotes.org/Oregon

OWACORReportHB3000May182009

Publish at Scribd or explore others: School Work Magazines & Newspape How-to-Guides & Manu children treatment

FAQ to use when speaking to elected officials about HB 3000

Please use this FAQ sheet when speaking with your elected officials.

FAQ for Oregon House Bill 3000 (HB 3000):
Autism Insurance Reform

Sponsored by: Representatives Buckley, Greenlick, C. Edwards, Kotek, Tomei,
and Senator Bates

-----------------------------

• How does autism impact the constituents of my district? Autism is a devastating disorder affecting an epidemic proportion of 1 in 89 children in your district. These children have an average life expectancy, generally outliving their parents, potentially their siblings and other family members.

• Is there a cure for autism? AUTISM IS TREATABLE. With appropriate application of recommended treatment, 30 years of research has shown us that children can overcome the severe symptoms of their disorder to lead very productive lives. In contrast, a 2006 Harvard Study indicates that without appropriate intervention a person with autism will have a societal impact of $3.2 Million each over the course of their lifetime.

• Do insurance companies cover autism now? At this time, most private insurance policies specifically exclude most treatments for autism, even when the service is otherwise covered by the health plan. HB 3000 ends this discriminatory practice against children with autism.

• What are the costs? The insurance industry’s own association – the Council for Affordable Health Insurance – estimates that mandated autism benefits costs by LESS than 1% increase premium

• What are the costs to the state? HB 3000 actually reduces big government --removing the need, and future dependence of families on state governmental agencies to care for their children. It reduces future Medicaid services, special education costs, and adult services, housing and care, saving our state millions of dollars.

• Doesn’t our Educational System cover these treatments? Opponents of HB 3000 have intimated that our special education system provides these services. Besides the fact that you are hard pressed to find a school in our state that does provide ABA, it is not the job of the Oregon Public School System to ameliorate or recover the medical condition of children with a neurobiological disorder. Their job is to provide them with an education in the least restrictive environment. We do not expect school systems to handle the medical care of children with AIDS, Cancer or Diabetes and we shouldn't expect school systems to handle the medical care of children with autism either.

• Does this create a significant economic burden to business owners? These societal costs will be there in one way or another. Opponents of HB 3000 may say this bill places unnecessary economic burdens on business owners. Would the business owners in your district prefer a small rate of impact at $1/month per policy in insurance costs or higher taxes in the future?

• Will HB3000 help or hurt Oregon’s economy? HB 3000 will definitely generate new job markets for workers in Oregon and stimulate the economy. The implementation of this legislation will provide new jobs for speech therapists, occupational therapists, applied behavior analysis therapists, physical therapists and more creating living wage jobs for Oregon residents and encouraging people to move to Oregon to participate in this human service delivery. Better wages and more residents equal a larger tax base from which to pull, benefiting everyone. Most of these children require one on one interaction requiring one adult worker full-time, per child covered, by this legislation.

ACTION ALERT: Take Action on HB 3000 to move it from Rules Committee to the House Floor!

An URGENT Take Action request from Autism Votes, some links from this blog site added for more background if desired, but WE MUST STEP UP CALLS AND EMAILS to make HB 3000 stand out from other bills, be voted to go to the House floor and to keep it moving to passage in this Legislative session. As the ACTION ALERT notes, if HB 3000 dies in this session, the next opportunity to submit a bill won't be until 2011--2 years from now, and implementation probably won't be for another year or 2 after that. We have bipartisan support, but HB 3000 MUST make it to House Floor in order for an opportunity for a vote!

Please respond to the action alert and keep contacting the legislators!

THIS IS OUR BEST SHOT.

05/06/09 Autism Votes... It's time for lawmakers to listen.

Dear Oregon Autism Advocate,

States all around us are passing autism insurance reform. As you know Oregon HB 3000 has been introduced in the Oregon legislature and if passed will provide Oregon's children with autism insurance coverage for treatments and therapies they need and deserve, including ABA therapy.

Our next hurdle is the House Rules Committee and then HB 3000 is on it's way to the floor of the House for a vote and one step closer to becoming a law!

If the bill does not get out of the Rules Committee, we will not be able to get appropriate coverage for Oregon's children until the next session in 2011.

We need your help to make some noise and let the committee know how very much you want this bill to pass on through the legislative process! They are hearing from the insurance companies...they need to hear from you!

Here is How You Can Help:

1. CONTACT THE MEMBERS OF THE RULES COMMITTEE AND ASK THEM TO VOTE YES FOR HB 3000! We need you to contact the following people each day until we tell you to stop and ask them to vote YES on HB 3000. If you are a constituent, be sure to let them know. > CALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE! Calls are way more important than emails. They need to hear your voices and we need their phones ringing off the hook! Representative Arnie Roblan, Chair - 503-986-1409 Representative Vicki Berger - 503-986-1420 Representative Chris Edwards - 503-986-1414 Representative Bill Garrard - 503-986-1456 Representative Sara Gelser - 503-986-1416 Representative Bob Jenson - 503-986-1458 Representative Mary Nolan - 503-986-1436 Representative Tobias Read - 503-986-1427 Not sure what to say? Follow this script: "Hi! My name is _________________________. I am calling to ask Representative _____________ to vote YES on HB 3000 and to allow HB 3000 to go to the House Floor for a vote. Thank you so much!" > CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW UP WITH AN EMAIL TO ALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS! You don't need to know their email addresses, our system will send the email for you. It's easy! 2. MULTIPLY YOUR EFFORTS BY RECRUITING 20 PEOPLE YOU KNOW TO CALL TOO -- JUST FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO THEM! We need to multiply our grassroots efforts exponentially over the course of the next few days and generate thousands of calls. Please forward this to anyone who can help make calls to the committee to ask them to vote YES for HB 3000. They do not have to have a child with autism to be supportive! Think outside the box to neighbors, family members, friends, coworkers - anyone you know who lives in Oregon who would make these calls for your child

Thanks for your time and effort. Please call them and follow up with an email every day. This is very important so that HB 3000 can continue through the legislative process on become a reality. For more information on HB 3000 visit www.autismvotes.org/oregon! Happy dialing! Shelley Hendrix Director of State Advocacy Relations Autism Speaks

ADVOCACY: Keep the emails, letters and calls up! HB 3000 is in the House Rules Committee

HB 3000 has officially been moved to Rules thanks to the
Speaker of the Oregon House!

Parents and supporters are asked to write, email and call members of the House Rules Committee and also those in the Senate Healthcare and Veterans Affairs Committee concurrently and to also contact your district representatives to let them know you support HB 3000.

Phone numbers, email addresses and mailing addresses below.

Don't forget to ask family, friends and neighbors to support HB 3000.
on behalf of your family and your child(ren)!

Also see the Oregon page at Autismvotes
http://www.autismvotes.org/oregon

Another hearing is anticipated this month, and let's see if we can get HB 3000
onto the floor of the Oregon House for a vote!

House Rules Committee,
House Rules Committee Agendas
Office: 453, Phone: 503-986-1532
Staffing: Jerry Watson, Mike Reiley

Membership

Rep. Arnie Roblan, Chair, (D-9-Coos Bay) 503-986-1409,
rep.arnieroblan@state.or.us
900 Court St NE, H-272, Salem,, OR, 97301

Rep. Vicki Berger, Vice-Ch. (R-20-Salem) 503-986-1420,
rep.vickiberger@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., H-479, Salem, OR, 97301

Rep. Chris Edwards, Vice-Ch. (D-14-Eugene) 503-986-1414,
rep.chrisedwards@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE, H-283, Salem, OR, 97301

Rep. Bill Garrard (R-56-Klamath Falls) 503-986-1456,
rep.billgarrard@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., H-480, Salem, OR, 97301

Rep. Sara Gelser (D-16-Corvallis & Philomath) 503-986-1416,
rep.saragelser@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE H-285, Salem, OR, 97301

Rep. Bob Jenson (R-58-Pendleton) 503-986-1458,
rep.bobjenson@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., H-481, Salem, OR, 97301

Rep. Mary Nolan (D-36-Portland) 503-986-1436,
rep.marynolan@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., H-295, Salem, OR, 97301

Rep. Tobias Read (D-27-Beaverton) 503-986-1427,
rep.tobiasread@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE, H-490, Salem, OR, 97301

Senate Health Care and Veterans' Affairs
Senate Health Care and Veterans' Affairs Committee Agendas
Office: 453 Phone: 503-986-1530
Staffing: Robert Shook, Cassandra Strauch

Membership:

Laurie Monnes Anderson, Chair (D-25-Gresham) 503-986-1725,
sen.lauriemonnesanderson@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., S-413, Salem, OR, 97301

Jeff Kruse, Vice-Chair (R-1-Roseburg) 503-986-1701
sen.jeffkruse@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., S-316, Salem, OR, 97301

Alan C Bates (D-3-Ashland) 503-986-1703
sen.alanbates@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., S-205, Salem, OR, 97301

Bill Morrisette (D-6-Springfield) 503-986-1706
sen.billmorrisette@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., S-207, Salem, OR, 97301

Frank Morse (R-8-Albany) 503-986-1708
sen.frankmorse@state.or.us
900 Court St. NE., S-311, Salem, OR, 97301

"Write your" local State Representatives
Automated form at the State Legislature website

HB 3000 Goes to the House Rules Committee

At the House Health Care Committee meeting today 4/27/09, HB 3000 was referred on consensus to the House Rules Committee without recommendation. The alternative to this referral was that HB 3000 would have died in Committee without action having been taken.

This decision can be heard on the audio transcript (clip 1) at about 14:00-18:46.

Representative Kennemer asked whether this was to Rules to be "ruled" on, or to the "Rules Cemetery". Representative Bruun added the comment that HB 3000 had value and was viable by amendment to use of "current best practices" rather than specific treatment modality in order to give the bill flexibility and to give petitioners and advocates the support required.

The reply of Chairman Greenlick was that the matter would now be in the Rules Committee's hands.

Composition of the Rules Committee,

Rep. Arnie Roblan, Chair, (D-9-Coos Bay) 503-986-1409, rep.arnieroblan@state.or.us
Rep. Vicki Berger, Vice-Ch. (R-20-Salem) 503-986-1420, rep.vickiberger@state.or.us
Rep. Chris Edwards, Vice-Ch. (D-14-Eugene) 503-986-1414, rep.chrisedwards@state.or.us
Rep. Bill Garrard (R-56-Klamath Falls) 503-986-1456, rep.billgarrard@state.or.us
Rep. Sara Gelser (D-16-Corvallis & Philomath) 503-986-1416, rep.saragelser@state.or.us
Rep. Bob Jenson (R-58-Pendleton) 503-986-1458, rep.bobjenson@state.or.us
Rep. Mary Nolan (D-36-Portland) 503-986-1436, rep.marynolan@state.or.us
Rep. Tobias Read (D-27-Beaverton) 503-986-1427, rep.tobiasread@state.or.us

Staffing: Jerry Watson, Mike Reiley
Office: 453, Phone: 503-986-1532

Link to the Rules Committee's Agenda page