SIDEBAR: Video- "Legislative Advocacy for Individuals with [Developmental] Disabilities"

An interesting and informative video from UC MIND, which has some specificity to California in reference to particular advocacy groups and structural differences in that state. That said, the issues discussed are not particular to any one state and there are some good ideas on what makes for successful grassroots advocacy. The message on advocacy "how-tos" picks up after 40 minutes.

Legislative Advocacy for Individuals with [Developmental] Disabilities
UC MIND Institute June 2008, 1:16:25

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!

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

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• 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.