As most may know from social media, a large group of Autism Family Members in North Carolina are not happy with the language in S 676 as it is written as of September 9, 2015 that carves out autism from the protections of federal mental health parity law. The General Assembly's session is winding to a close after a long summer so some of us decided it was time to show the General Assembly how many of us are not happy with that language. This was especially necessary given the fact that the Autism Society of North Carolina and other organizations are pushing what I consider to be an inaccurate and irresponsible line that mental health parity would not be effected in a meaningful manner by the current language.
Accordingly, I am posting below the letter that was hand delivered to each of the members of the North Carolina General Assembly this morning. I was excited and enthused to see such a great response from North Carolina citizens, including a big list of citizens who have families members on the autism spectrum, who are with me and demanding the General Assembly pass legislation that provides insurance coverage for autism while also maintaining mental health parity rights. Time is short on this for this year, hopefully the General Assembly listens to us.
 |
| A group of families advocating last summer. |
September 9, 2015
Dear Senators, Representatives, and those Interested in
Autism Insurance Reform:
You may remember that we are Autism Dad’s who wrote to you
back in July to raise an issue that we had with the mental health parity carve
out for autism in the current form SB 676. In that letter, we proposed a simple
fix to the language of SB 676 that would preserve our children’s protections under
federal mental health parity laws while also allowing the insurance providers
to have comfort that the legislation’s age and coverage limit caps are
enforceable. As a refresher, the simple
fix that we proposed was to change N.C.G.S. § 58-3-192 so that it reads:
“Notwithstanding the definition of 'mental illness' in G.S. 58-3-220, 58-51-55,
58-65-90 and 58-67-75, coverage for adaptive behavior treatment under this
section may be subject to a maximum benefit of up to forty thousand dollars
($40,000) per year and may be limited to individuals 18 years of age or
younger.” With this change, the proposed
amendments to N.C.G.S. §§ 58-3-220, 58-51-55, 58-65-90 and 58-67-75 that carve
out our children’s federal mental health parity rights could be removed from SB
676 while preserving the enforceability of the age and coverage caps.
Since sending the letter, we have continued to advocate for
the change that we proposed. We have
asked questions of the insurance companies and of the groups supporting the
current form of SB 676, who say they advocate for us, why the language we
proposed is not an acceptable alternative.
Our questions to these groups have gone unanswered. Indeed, those groups actually refuse to
respond to us altogether. Instead, the
groups continue to release “FAQ’s” that we believe are inaccurate. Again, we are unable to discuss these
inaccuracies with the groups because they refuse to communicate with us.
We recognize that this session appears to be coming to an
end so it is time to do something with SB 676.
With that in mind, over the past weekend we polled North Carolina Autism Families from around the state to see
whether they would rather see a version of SB 676 in its current form that
removes Autism Spectrum Disorders from the coverage of federal mental health
parity protections pass or if they would rather have the North Carolina House
of Representatives amend SB676 to maintain our children’s federal mental health
parity rights even in the face of threats that the bill will be killed if SB
676 is amended. We limited the question
just to families because it will be the families who are most affected by any
loss of federal mental health parity rights, not the service providers or the
insurance companies.
Attached to this letter you will find a list of North
Carolina Autism Family Members who if given those options, would rather see a
change made to SB 676. We were not
surprised to see the overwhelming response that we received. What this response shows is that North
Carolina Autism Families care about these issues. What this response shows is that North
Carolina Autism Families trust that the members of the North Carolina State
Senate will do what is right and just for our children and will not actually
kill SB 676 if it is presented to them in a form that will preserve federal
mental health parity rights and maintain the enforceability of the age and
coverage limit caps. What this response
shows is that North Carolina Autism Families do not want to sacrifice their
children’s federal mental health parity rights and risk being put in a
situation where:
•
Their insurance company could force them to try an alternate treatment
or therapy and prove that the alternative treatment or therapy failed before
authorizing the treatment or therapy recommended by the family’s doctor.
•
Their insurance company could force them to choose from a very limited
supply of in-network providers rather than allowing them to decide if they want
to use an in-network provider or an out-of-network provider.
•
Their insurance company could prevent them from seeing an out-of-state
specialist.
• Their insurance company could
apply different (more difficult) preauthorization standards to their autism
claims than to all other claims.
•
Their insurance company could apply different medical necessity
standards and criteria to determine coverage or exclusion of a specific
service.
•
Their insurance company could require different standards for provider
admission to participate in a network.
•
Their insurance company could impose disparate treatment limitations
based on geography, facility type, or provider specialty.
•
Their insurance company could impose different criteria limiting the
scope or duration of benefits or services.
Each of the listed scenarios are possible for our families
should our children lose their federal mental health parity rights. We hope
when you read the scenarios you can see why we, as a group of North Carolina
autism families, feel so strongly about this issue and why we urge you to make
our proposed changes to SB 676.
Please do not put another obstacle in our children’s way by
passing SB 676 and taking away our children’s federal mental health parity
rights. You have an amazing opportunity
to do what 42 other states have done, which is to pass meaningful legislation that
preserves existing federal mental health parity rights for children on the autism
spectrum while also creating a wonderful tool that will help each of our
children better their lives. We hope you
take this opportunity and run with it!
Brian Pearce Kyle Robinson John Mies
Charlie’s Dad Samuel’s Dad Jack’s Dad
1711 Swannanoa Drive 535 Cedar Ridge Drive 7102 Leaning Tree Dr.
Greensboro, NC 27410 Winterville, NC 28590 Greensboro, NC 27410
336-404-0214 843-408-6870 336-255-2521
NORTH
CAROLINA AUTISM FAMILIES IN SUPPORT OF THIS LETTER
1.
Robert & Christi D’Amelio, Mom and Dad,
Charlotte, NC
2.
Shanna Dowd & Malcolm Richardson, Mom and Dad,
Greensboro, NC
3.
Josh and Kim Edgar, Mom and Dad, Greensboro, NC
4.
John Burress,
Grandfather, Winston-Salem, NC
5.
Katharine and Scott Kollins, Mom and Dad,
Durham, NC
6.
Zack and Lauren Matheny, Mom and Dad,
Greensboro, NC
7.
Bill Fansworth,
Dad, Charlotte, NC
8.
Tim Newman, Dad,
Charlotte, NC
9.
Michelle Leatherman, Mom, High Point, NC
10.
Jeff Leatherman,
Dad, Greensboro, NC
11.
Delores A Revill, Grandmother, Holly Springs,
NC
12.
Sara and Jamie Payne, Mom and Dad, High Point, NC
13.
Andrea
Worthington, Mom, Greensboro,
NC
14.
Kimberly Pace,
Mom, Charlotte, NC
15.
Jimmy Miller,
Dad, Harrisburg, NC
16.
Elizabeth and John McKee, Mom and Dad,
Greensboro NC
17.
Dan Johnson,
Dad, Charlotte, NC
18.
Joanne and Frank Ovnic, Grandmother
and Grandfather, Kernersville, NC
19.
Cheri Nye Sharon, Mom, Greensboro, NC
20.
Ashly Oria-Adams, Mom, Cabarrus County, NC
21.
Lisa and Vincent Simone, Mom and Dad,
Charlotte, NC
22.
Bob and Donnie Holder, Grandmother
and Grandfather, Winston-Salem, NC
23.
Stephanie & Michael Mullen, Mom and Dad,
Denver, NC
24.
Butch and
Elizabeth McConnell, Grandmother and
Grandfather, Gastonia, NC
25.
Kay Farrell,
Mom, Chapel Hill, NC
26.
Jenny Gandee, Mom, Greensboro, NC
27.
Ava Neyer, Mom, Fayetteville, NC
28.
Emily and Steven Cayton, Mom and Dad,
Winston-Salem, NC
29.
Trudy J. Pearce,
Grandmother, Charlotte, NC
30.
Bobbie H. Robinson, Mom, Winterville, NC
31.
Patrick and Emily McConnell, Aunt and Uncle,
Durham, NC
32.
Allison and Brent Brewer, Mom and Dad,
Winston-Salem, NC
33.
Mike and Debbie Brooks, Grandmother and
Grandfather, Oak Ridge, NC
34.
Angie and Doug Brown, Mom and Dad, Brown Summit, NC
35.
Eric J. and Sonya B. Pearce, Uncle and Aunt,
Concord, NC
36.
Chris Omohundro,
Dad, Greensboro, NC
37.
Krystal
Ketner,
Mom, Greensboro, NC
38.
Tim Ketner, Dad, Gibsonville, NC
39.
Shea Capps, Mom, Jamestown, NC
40.
Nancy and Wilmer Leatherman, Grandmother
and Grandfather, High Point, NC
41.
Gwen and Kurt Bartley, Mom and Dad,
Cabarrus County, NC
42.
Rita Capps, Grandmother, Jamestown, NC
43.
Lance and Mollie Jimison, Uncle and Aunt,
Belmont, NC
44.
Wendy B. Mies,
Mom, Greensboro, NC
45.
Allison and
Chris Hocker, Mom and Dad,
Greensboro, NC
46.
Sarah Wade, Cousin, Greensboro, NC
47.
Amber and Todd Ostrander, Mom and Dad,
Harrisburg, NC
48.
Amie and Vic Cennamo, Mom and Dad, Cabarrus
County, NC
49.
Paul Ovnic, Uncle, Kernersville, NC
50.
Miranda Balla,
Mom, Greensboro NC
51.
Michelle and Howard Shaffer Hitchcock, Mom and Dad,
Harrisburg, NC
52.
Laura & Joe Milliken, Mom and Dad, Harrisburg, NC
53.
Mary Cook, Grandmother, Kernersville NC
54.
Kris Veno, Mother, Fayetteville, NC
55.
Caroline M. Pearce, Mom, Greensboro, NC
56.
Mark Stafford,
Father, Chapel Hill, NC
57.
Tommy and Kimberly Ledbetter, Aunt and Uncle,
Clemmons, NC
58.
Bates Chapman,
Father, Raleigh, NC
59.
Michael McConnell, Uncle, Belmont, NC
60.
Vanessa Budet and Juan Jose Flores, Mom and Dad,
Greensboro, NC
61.
Meghan Rhodes,
Mom, Charlotte, NC
62.
Beth Waterfield,
Mom, Oak Ridge, NC
63.
Jessica Williams, Mom
64.
Lindsay Slate,
Mom, Kernersville, NC
65.
Kimberly Pace,
Mom, Matthews, NC
66.
Todd and Karen Allen, Uncle and Aunt,
Kernersville, NC
67.
Penny Andrew,
Mom, Kernersville, NC
68.
Consuelo Robbins, Mom, Greensboro, NC
69.
Terrence Gerald Sr., Dad, Kernersville, NC
70.
Linda and David Cobb, Aunt and Uncle,
Franklinton, NC
71.
Scott and Melissa Brooks, Uncle and Aunt,
Oak Ridge, NC
72.
Paula Munos,
Mom, Greenville, NC
73.
Kent Adams, Dad, Greensboro, NC
74.
Harold and Melba Little, Mom and Dad,
Tarboro, NC
75.
Lara Easley,
Mom, Greensboro, NC
76.
Matt and Sara English, Mom and Dad,
Winston-Salem, NC
77.
Cindy Bowen,
Mom, Winston-Salem, NC
78.
Monte and Laurie Brackett, Mom and Dad,
Oak Ridge, NC
79.
Vicki Koch, Aunt, Colfax, NC
80.
West and Jeni Fowler, Mom and Dad, Winston-Salem,
NC
81.
Christy Sherman,
Mom, Advance, NC
82.
Marcy Morris and Edward Morris Jr., Mom and Dad,
Greensboro, NC
83.
Mary Gilliam,
Mom, Advance, NC
84.
Kim and Chris Smith, Mom and Dad, Matthews, NC
85.
Lisa Simone,
Mom, Charlotte, NC
86.
Julie Toburen,
Mom, Charlotte, NC
87.
Erik J. Dillard,
Dad, Greensboro, NC
88.
Heather Davis,
Mom, Charlotte, NC
89.
Joel and Lynn Payne, Aunt and Uncle, High Point,
NC
90.
Carol and Joel Payne, Grandmother and Grandfather,
High Point, NC
When we sent out the question
that is set out in the above letter to the family groups we were able to reach,
we received responses from other North Carolina citizens who are connected to
autism in some meaningful way and who wanted to share their support for our
position. Accordingly, we have included
those names below in addition to the family names above. It is also possible that some of these
individuals have family members touched by autism, but we have not been able to
verify it so we did not include them in the above list. As an additional note,
it was our intention to post our question to the Facebook page of the Autism
Society of North Carolina, but when Brian Pearce attempted to do so, he learned
that he had been blocked from their page, so we were unable to do so.
NORTH CAROLINA CITIZENS IN SUPPORT OF
THIS LETTER
91.
Kelli and Gary Embler, Harrisburg, NC
92.
Lisa and Ethan Hagen, Teacher, Charlotte, NC
93.
Leslie & Darrel Sprick, Mooresville, NC
94.
Leslie Kidder,
Mooresville, NC
95.
Ashley Poteat Pagliughi, Huntersville, NC
96.
Kay Stapleton,
Mooresville, NC
97.
Bill and Marina Leonidas, Charlotte, NC
98.
Gwen Robbins Schug, Associate Professor,
Appalachian State University
99.
Christine and Rich Manning, Charlotte, NC
100.Shawn and
Amy Guffey, Charlotte, NC
101.Ann
McCormick, Lillington, NC
102.Rene Bess, Lincoln County, NC
103.Laura
Schuchart, Apex, NC
104.Amy Swaim, High Point, NC
105.Adolfo and
Brooke Silva, Oak Ridge, NC
106.Phil and
LeeAnn Cathcart, Greensboro, NC
107.Jordan Allen, Kernersville, NC
108.Joseph Allen, High Point NC
109.Darin and Ashley Wells, Kernersville, NC
110.Bonita Moon, Greensboro, NC
111.GeRita T
Walden, Jamestown, NC
112.Jeff Holland, Raleigh, NC
113.Susan
Cannady, Greensboro, NC
114.Nick Trull, Asheboro, NC
115.Rebecca
Coplin, Greensboro, NC
116.Keiko L Pace, Charlotte, NC
117.Kay Parker, Asheboro, NC
118.Christine
and Rich Manning, Charlotte, NC
119.Katie and
Reilly O’Neal, Raleigh, NC
120.Marla
O’Neill, Indian Trail, NC
121.Jennifer Berry, Creedmoor,
NC
122.Kristen
Kevorkian, Jamestown, NC
123.Bonnie
Currin, Sanford, NC
124.Cody Vogan, Greensboro, NC
125.Stephen and
Nicole Kohut, Greensboro, NC
126.Marianne
Alexander, Kernersville, NC
127.Catherine
and David Lane, Summerfield, NC
128.Tiffany
Cornwall, Wilmington, NC
129.Shanee and
Grandin Howell, Winston-Salem, NC
130.Michael
Sherman, Raleigh, NC
131.Pat and
David Townsend, Troutman, NC
132.Haylee
Ambler, Hendersonville, NC
133.Patrick
Lattimore
134.Sandra
Lenins
135.Jessica Fett
Gutierrez
136.Kim Pepper
137.Eban Kea
138. Carol
Campbell
139.Ann
McCormick
140.Summer
Merier
141.Nicole
Carpenter
142.Melissa
Johnson
143.Tammy Wray
144.Ximena
Caceres
145.Tiffany
Blackburn
146.Susan Jones
147.Andrea Knipp
148.Apple Boyce
149.Donna Anders
150.Rebecca
Clickeua
151.Tammy B.
Kenney
152.Vicky
Ducheneaux
Please do not pass any legislation that will make it more difficult for my twin grandsons on the Autism Spectrum to get all they need and are entitled to by law and ethical morality.
ReplyDelete