[ Home | About | News | RSS | E-Mail Updates | Donate ]
AutismCrisis.org is a grassroots effort that promotes awareness of issues related to autism. Of particular concern is the current position of many health insurance companies (and your Senators who may be representing their needs ahead of yours) to frequently not cover autism treatment.
Some of your Senators have even argued on behalf of insurance companies to fight efforts to cover autism treatment. AutismCrisis.org aims to expose this conflict of interest that is occurring when your legislator is being legally bribed by the health insurance industry, at the expense of your child's health and development.
AutismCrisis.org is a project of Poor Man's Lobbyist, A Nonprofit Organization, which focuses on issues such as civil rights, discrimination against disabled children, and healthcare reform. Please help us with our cause by spreading the word, such as via Twitter or Facebook, and/or by making a small donation to help fund our mission.
The autism crisis is not new. Healthcare reform is front and center in the U.S. Congress, and the CDC has just come out with new numbers again confirming the increase in autism rates. Yet, most Senators and Congressmen continue to be silent on addressing the autism crisis, even in the context of the current healthcare reform. The co-founder of Autism Speaks, Bob Wright, is asking what many of us have been wondering for quite a while now: "What will it take?"
Wright asks, "...what it will take to get our elected leaders to wake up and take on this crisis in an appropriate way? Must we wait until every member of Congress has a child or grandchild with autism, or until every household is impacted by this devastating disorder? With nearly 750,000 children on the autism spectrum, we need meaningful action now that acknowledges the scope of this problem and allocates the resources necessary to take the fight against autism to a new level. We cannot expect the millions of people impacted by this crisis to wait another 20 years for answers."
Read the full Autism Speaks blog post.
AutismCrisis.org will not support any healthcare reform bill that does not finally mandate insurance coverage of autism treatment, such as ABA therapy, for every individual with autism, regardless of age.
[ Comments ]
A new CDC report released on December 18 shows a continued increase in autism, which now affects 1 in 110 U.S. children and 1 in 70 boys. Yet in most states, health insurance companies are free to discriminate against children with autism and deny coverage for effective treatments, such as ABA therapy.
While some state legislators have taken a leadership role in mandating insurance coverage for autism treatment in their states, the U.S. Congress and the White House have been silent on including similar mandates within the current health care reform legislation. You can follow the progress (or lack of progress) on U.S. health care reform at PoorMansLobbyist.org.
[ Comments ]
As many parents of children with autism already know, early autism intervention, such as ABA therapy, can be very effective and "lead to raised IQ levels and improved language skills and behavior," according to a study referenced by CNN in a Nov. 30 story.
Unfortunately, in most states, it is still legal for self-insured employers and health insurance companies to deny this important treatment.
Read CNN's article for more information on this study.
[ Comments ]
On Saturday, Nov. 21, the Senate debated whether or not to allow its healthcare reform bill to come to the floor for debate and amendments, versus no action being taken (PoorMansLobbyist.org has more details on this story).
During a passionate speech about the need for healthcare reform, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) specifically called out the need for coverage of prescribed autism therapies, such as ABA therapy. Autism treatment advocates may recall that Senator Menendez also advocated for autism coverage during committee hearings.
AutismCrisis.org thanks Senator Menendez for his continued advocacy related to autism coverage and healthcare reform, and we hope that more of his colleagues will join him in addressing the current autism epidemic.
[ Comments ]
The Autism Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009, sponsored by Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA), has picked up four new cosponsors: Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Joe Crowley (D-NY), Dale Kildee (D-MI), and Solomon Ortiz (D-TX).
The complete list of cosponsors is available at govtrack.us.
Autism treatment is a bipartisan issue; is your Congressman listed as a cosponsor? If not, please call his or her office, and ask him or her to become a cosponsor of HR 2413. Please tell your Congressman that your vote in 2010 will go to someone who cares about the autism epidemic and is actually doing something about it.
AutismCrisis.org applauds and thanks Rep. Doyle and all of the cosponsors for their support.
[ Comments ]
[ Show more news ]
Search for updates on the legislation below by typing in the bill name (e.g., "HR 2413") in the Search box. Include the quotes for best results.
Wondering why there is little or no progress on the autism-related legislation listed below? So are we! Please call your Senators and Congressmen and ask them what specific actions they are taking on these bills and on their own initiatives to address autism treatment.
Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA) has introduced comprehensive legislation focused on treating children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. The legislation is currently referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Update: new cosponsors! Does your Congressman care about autism? Find the complete list of cosponsors in this article.
Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) has introduced legislation requiring The White House to convene a conference on autism by the end of 2010. We'll provide updates as this legislation progresses; in the meantime, you can get some background info from this article in The Kokomo Perspective. The legislation was just recently introduced to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has introduced legislation requiring a study of vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations, in order to determine whether vaccines or vaccine components play a role in the development of autism spectrum or other neurological conditions. The legislation is currently waiting in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. We will provide updates after we finish researching the proposed legislation.
AutismCrisis.org is a project of Poor Man's Lobbyist, A Nonprofit Organization.
Copyright © 2010 Poor Man's Lobbyist, A Nonprofit Organization. All Rights Reserved.
Poor Man's Lobbyist, PoorMansLobbyist.org, AutismCrisis.org, the PoorMansLobbyist.org logo, and the AutismCrisis.org logo are trademarks of Poor Man's Lobbyist, A Nonprofit Organization.
