On Tuesday, ASNC alerted the public that changes made to H 589 would threaten the rights of individuals with guardianship to vote. Thank you for your advocacy on this issue: You were heard! We can now report that Senator Apodaca introduced an amendment to the bill on the floor of the Senate Wednesday night that…
Update and Alert: Children w/ Disabilities Education Tax Credit and Scholarship Program
Note: an hour after this blog was posted we got word that Senate Finance scheduled an additional meeting Wednesday July 17 at 1 PM and has put H269 on the calendar! We are looking forward to the committee discussion and a favorable vote. Feel free to let your own Senator know your support for the…
11 Things to Know About the Autism Insurance Bill and the NC Legislature
The Autism Society of North Carolina has been working for the past 5 years with other groups in NC to pass a law that would require private insurance and the state health plan to cover diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder. We’ve written about the struggle to get a law passed in many blogs…
Managed Care and Partnership for a Healthy North Carolina
In early April, the Governor McCrory announced a proposal to reform Medicaid under a new comprehensive Section 1115 waiver that would integrate all Medicaid services (physical health, mental health, long-term care, etc.) into a seamless statewide system under a managed care model known as the Partnership for a Healthy North Carolina. The proposal would, according…
Public Policy Update: Some Bills Survived “Crossover” and Some Did Not
As I mentioned in my previous blog posting, the week of May 10th to 14th at the General Assembly was crossover, a “do or die” week for policy bills introduced in the legislative long session. Simplified: bills that pass one chamber, either the NC House or the NC Senate, stay “alive” and can be voted…
Legislative Update for May 20 – NC House Passes Autism Insurance Bill!
The following post was filed by Jennifer Mahan, Autism Society of North Carolina Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. Crossover Week Last week, the legislature finished a very busy week known as “crossover.” During each long session the NC General Assembly sets a deadline for policy bills to be approved by one chamber or the…
Autism Insurance Update: Insurance Committee Hearing for H 498 Scheduled!
House Bill 498 that would require group insurance plans and the state health plan in North Carolina to cover treatment of autism is scheduled for a House Insurance Committee hearing on Tuesday May 14, 2013 at 1PM in room 1228/1327 of the Legislative Building. The House bill would ensure that plans for companies that operate…
Autism Health Insurance Reform
The following column was written by Autism Society of North Carolina CEO Tracey Sheriff. State lawmakers have an opportunity to right an unfortunate injustice this legislative session. Currently in North Carolina, the nearly 60,000 individuals with autism and their families face unfair financial hardship because of an inequality in their health insurance coverage. To correct…
College Admissions Testing and Autism
This contribution is from Parent Advocate/Trainer Nancy Popkin. Back when my son was diagnosed with autism, I couldn’t imagine him going to college, let alone surviving his school years. But here we are, sixteen years post diagnosis, with a high school graduate who is now a college freshman. If college is in your child’s future,…