This past Wednesday, March 9, the MD House Health and Government Operations Committee and the Senate Finance Committe held their hearings on the autism insurance bill (SB 759/HB 783). A fellow autism parent and I went down to show our support. We got there early, on a mission to deliver POAC's written testimony in support of the bill to the Committee offices 2 hours before hearing time. On the Senate side, we had the satisfaction of arriving right after the representative from the Chamber of Commerce. It felt good to cover over their opposing testimony with our supporting one. There was a thick pile of written testimony, almost all from supportive groups. To see POAC's submission, go to our website (www.poacofcentralmd.org) and click the Advocacy Resources tab.
The first hearing was on the Senate side. It was a chaotic day in Annapolis, with lots of bills on the slate, so the Finance Committee limited the hearing for our bill to 15 minutes. This meant only two of our four panels of representatives got to testify. The Chair really wanted to hear from the families, so parents and siblings carried the hearing with their moving testimony. There was only one opposing representative, the guy from the Chamber, who cited the costs of the bill. Our Senate bill sponsor, Sen. Klausmeier, asked him pointedly what he could propose to help with the real problem of autism. He had nothing to say.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Next Steps to Help Win Maryland Autism Insurance
The Maryland Coalitition for Autism Insurance Coverage (join it on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=73295166222) met today by conference call to lay out the most important next steps in the effort to turn our great bill into law. Here are two important things anyone can do to help:
Attend the Hearings
Our bill is the subject of hearings in both the State Senate Finance Committee and House Health & Government Affairs Committee next Wednesday, March 9. The committee leaders recognize that families want to come to Annapolis to participate in these hearings, so they scheduled both on the same day and agreed to ensure they happen at different times in the day. This will give us the maximum chance to be part of the process. Let's reward this thoughtfulness with a great turnout!
The order of events in each committtee isn't decided until the day of the hearing and both meetings are scheduled to start at 1pm. So it will be a little tricky knowing when we'll need to be where. The plan is for everyone to meet in the lobby of the House building before 1pm and get instructions from the committee staff by cell phone telling the group where to go next. More detailed directions to the lobby and the hearing rooms will come out next week. I'll post them on the POAC listserv.
Make Sure You've Contacted Your Senator and Delegate
We're hearing some members of the committees have not yet been contacted by their constituents about how important this bill is. This 'personal touch' is the most important, effective lobbying families can do. The ideal action is to call your Senator or Delegate first. You'll probably just get to leave a quick message of support with a staff person, but in this age of mass e-mail bombs, a phone call makes an impact. Then send an e-mail too, mentioning that you are following-up on your earlier call. If you don't have time to do both things, please try to one or the other. The most important thing is that every Senator and Delegate hears from families in their district. Absolutely key are the committee members (listed at the bottom of this post) so if one of these folks represents you, your call and e-mail are EXTRA important. If you don't live in a committee member's district (I don't) encourage someone you know who lives there to make the call.
Attend the Hearings
Our bill is the subject of hearings in both the State Senate Finance Committee and House Health & Government Affairs Committee next Wednesday, March 9. The committee leaders recognize that families want to come to Annapolis to participate in these hearings, so they scheduled both on the same day and agreed to ensure they happen at different times in the day. This will give us the maximum chance to be part of the process. Let's reward this thoughtfulness with a great turnout!
The order of events in each committtee isn't decided until the day of the hearing and both meetings are scheduled to start at 1pm. So it will be a little tricky knowing when we'll need to be where. The plan is for everyone to meet in the lobby of the House building before 1pm and get instructions from the committee staff by cell phone telling the group where to go next. More detailed directions to the lobby and the hearing rooms will come out next week. I'll post them on the POAC listserv.
Make Sure You've Contacted Your Senator and Delegate
We're hearing some members of the committees have not yet been contacted by their constituents about how important this bill is. This 'personal touch' is the most important, effective lobbying families can do. The ideal action is to call your Senator or Delegate first. You'll probably just get to leave a quick message of support with a staff person, but in this age of mass e-mail bombs, a phone call makes an impact. Then send an e-mail too, mentioning that you are following-up on your earlier call. If you don't have time to do both things, please try to one or the other. The most important thing is that every Senator and Delegate hears from families in their district. Absolutely key are the committee members (listed at the bottom of this post) so if one of these folks represents you, your call and e-mail are EXTRA important. If you don't live in a committee member's district (I don't) encourage someone you know who lives there to make the call.
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