The fight for autism insurance coverage in Virginia continues …Leesburg, VA --- Our grassroots campaign of families, legislators, physicians,
educators, therapists and friends were devastated to learn that Senate Bill 1260 was
defeated on the Senate floor last night after being successfully reported earlier in the
day from the Senate Finance Committee. We are also very disappointed about the
recent outcomes in the House of Delegates and ironic silent treatment received for
House Bill 1588. These actions will delay relief and needed medical therapies and
treatments for thousands of Virginia families touched by autism and the 1 in 150
that will be diagnosed.

That said, we can't ignore the remarkable progress made over the past
several months. During this time, we:
• Established a widespread, well-organized grassroots campaign;
• Successfully received the endorsement of the Mandated Benefits Commission in
November 2008 by a vote of 6-4, defining the medical efficacy, social impact
and fiscal impact of the bills;
• Worked with the Joint Legislative Audit Review and Review Commission (JLARC) and explained how medical insurance coverage must be a part of a comprehensive solution for autism services;
• Completed, through Autism Speaks, an independent actuarial analysis defining the cost impacts to be less than 0.6% and less than $1.90 per month per plan (the cost of doing nothing has a lifetime cost of $3.2M per individual according to Harvard);
• Educated many, many legislators on the impacts of autism on businesses,
communities, schools and families (see American Academy of Pediatrics Dec 2008 report in "Pediatrics" for more details); and
• Secured over 30 legislative patrons and rising.

This failure in the 2009 session will galvanize our support for the future. More and more
families and others touched by autism will stand up and join in. Our campaign for mandated autism insurance coverage in the 2010 session begins TODAY! We will continue to educate legislators from around the State and predict that this will be a priority issue in the November elections. In addition, we will reach out to those opposing this legislation and explain the impacts of autism (including detailed cost analysis). We want to inspire them to be community leaders on this issue. This is an issue about who we are as a society -- as Americans!
Finally, we thank the continued support of the many patrons, especially Delegate Robert Marshall and David Poisson and Senator Jill Vogel, for their hard work and commitment to this cause. We also thank the continued support from Autism Speaks, Autism Society of America, the Commonwealth Autism Service and others. We look forward to the months ahead.

Draft Email to Delegates and Senators for House Bill 1588 and Senate Bill 1260.doc

Report of Mandated Benefits -- ASD-2009_RD53.pdf

VA one-pager with Tyler and Bella Leg.pdf

HB1588-Prefiled_Sept2008.pdf

ASD Mandated Benefits Review Panel Report 061808 (PA HB1150).pdf

Autism__Letter_fm_Vatican--1Apr2008.pdf<

Today, the House voted to pass legislation authored by Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) to mandate the treatment of autistic children of service personnel under the military's healthcare program (TRICARE). The legislation, which was included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, is the successful culmination of a two year effort led by Congressman Sestak to provide treatment for the 13,000 autistic children of military personnel and will serve as a model for similar federal and state efforts.