Impacted by Autism

[allidennis9]

Washington Autism Advocacy is currently campaigning to mandate healthcare insurance coverage for the treatment of autism.

Statewide, we’ve garnered much support and have Senator Prentice and Representative Loomis sponsoring our bill, but here in the 34th district (primarily West Seattle) we are urging Representative Eileen Cody to co-sponsor. It will be going before the House and Senate in January, and she pledges to co-sponsor should she hear from 25+ constituents. Her support is critical to our effort, as she chairs the Healthcare and Wellness Committee.

I urge any of you concerned about the growing problem of autism spectrum disorders to write our Rep. (cody.eileen@leg.wa.gov) and urge her to co-sponsor the Autism Insurance Parity bill. This legislation will help children and young adults get the comprehensive medical treatment they need and deserve.

Please visit our website: washingtonautismadvocacy.org to read more about the bill and our efforts.

Again, I urgently request you write Rep. Cody and would be happy to help you frame your letter or provide you with sample letters if you just aren’t sure how to proceed. A call to her office, requesting her support, is another option (360-786-7978) — I can help you there too, should you need a quick fact sheet or ideas.

You can e-mail me, Allison, at abata9@gmail.com for any of the aids I’ve mentioned.

Thank you and let’s show Eileen this is an issue that her constituents care about!

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[acemotel]

will do this. Eileen Cody is a fine proactive rep. She was the first to step up and assist me with a (different) issue some years ago. She won’t drop the ball.

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[JoB]

i will be more than happy to support you in this.

Mandating the availability for medical care for those with autism will also slow down those who are abusing the educational system by claiming an autism diagnosis for their healthy children…

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[flowerpetal]

One of my closest friends has autism. I have known him for 20 years; and his family (since he was a preschooler). Are you suggesting Eileen because we are in her district? What should other people in other districts do? Should they wait until the bill progresses?

I agree with the postive comments about Eileen. I fear that this will be a tough battle this year with the condition of the state budget. I understand that the state is going to be cutting back the number of people on Basic Health. I say this not so much to be a doomsayer, but to suggest strategizing for replies to what are going to be the likely arguements against the bill at this time.

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[ellenater]

My kiddo is on the spectrum somewhere. Could you PM me the form letter? I’d rather go with what you have. Great work, thanks!

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[add]

I would also like to support this effort, having personal experience as well, and would love the form letter too. You can PM to me, too if that’s OK. Thank you for stepping up!

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[allidennis9]

Hi Flowerpetal,

You ask good questions and raise good points.

Firstly, yes, I’m recommending we write Eileen Cody because we in West Seattle are in district 34. Folks in other districts should write their legislators, some of which are already co-sponsoring the bill. Either way, more noise is always good – and no, they shouldn’t wait until the bill progresses. It is up for review next week and the more support we have up front, the better our chances overall.

Here is the list of current sponsors of the bill (and their district): Sen Prentice (11), Sen. Fairley (32), Sen. Kohl-Welles(36), Sen. Rockeller(23), Sen. Roach(31), Sen. Regala (27), Sen. Oemig (45), Sen. Tom (48), Sen. Swecker (20),, Rep Green(28) Rep Morrell(25), Rep. Campbell(2), Rep Anderson (5), Rep Appleton(23), Rep. Williams(22), Rep. O’Brien(1),

Rep. Rodne(5), Rep. Sells(38), and Rep. Kagi(32).

I hear your comments about increased costs and if I understand you correctly, here we are talking about getting insurance coverage for treatments, not state funding. The Washington bill would generate an estimated impact of 0.0023% on claim costs in Washington to employers/employees (taken from Marginal Costs of Mandated Benefits, Health Watch, January 2007). Conversely:

* According to the Harvard School of Public Health, the average societal cost of caring for 1 person with autism who does not receive treatment is $3.2 million over their lifespan.

* WA State costs when a person becomes a ward of the state is $4.3 million – $7.2 million per person over their lifetime.

So aside from looking at the minimal impact the bill would have on WA state claims’ costs, the long-term view shows dramatic savings overall.

I hope this information is of help to you and others who have questions about this bill and its impact on WA.

Allison

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[flowerpetal]

Allison, thanks so much. I asked those questions too quickly and should’ve gone to the link you provided first. This is a good cause; and I’m with you!

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[charlabob]

I just talked with Health Care for All (Washington) and gave them the link to your website so they could mention this effort in their newsletter. They agreed that this is a tough time to add programs and that this one is essential. Since it affects SO many people, might be a good time to at least get it on the map.

People don’t seem to understand that they pay now or pay later when they ignore these kinds of issues. And paying now is almost always much less expensive. It’s excellent that you have hard cold figures. Arithmetic is a science that’s hard to ignore. :-)

http://www.healthcareforallwa.org/

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[allidennis9]

Thank you so much, Cahrlabob. I appreciate you speaking with Health Care for All Washington. It’s ideas like this that move us closer to success.

I will pass on the news to Washington Autism Advocacy and this will get the word out to all our members of the efforts of Health Care for All Washington. A win-win!

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[jedden]

Here’s some more ammunition. This article summarizes a study being published in the journal Pediatrics. It confirms the heavy financial and personal burden on families caring for an autistic child. That’s certainly been our experience.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MED_AUTISMS_COSTS?SITE=DCUSN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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[allidennis9]

Jedden, thank you for that article – how true.

I believe I have contacted all via PM who earlier expressed interest in this issue because it is apparent we need to call Rep. Cody to reiterate our call for her support on the autism insurance parity bill.

If there are others of you out there who are interested in this legislation, I can provide a script with talking points and facts, to assist you. It is likely we’ll just be getting voicemail at this point in the holiday season, but it will still demonstrate how much her constituency cares.

Thanks, and e-mail me if you wish to make the call and need the script support – abata9@gmail.com

Happiest of holidays to everyone!

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