The Joint Study Committee on the Affordable Care Act, which is a specially appointed committee that has been meeting for the past few months, plans to make its recommendations to the General Assembly on Tuesday, May 14, including a proposed bill that would place a MORATORIUM ON ANY NEW HEALTH INSURANCE MANDATES. The moratorium is related to concerns about ACA/Obamacare impact.
A moratorium would kill our autism insurance bill.
Autism Insurance Reform House Bill 498 has been modified to protect the state of North Carolina from any ACA/Obamacare impact. Our legislation has nothing to do with the ACA.
With one exception – Rep. Jeff Collins, who is a co-chair of this committee – all of the House members on this ACA committee supported H498. Two members were absent during the vote on H498 (Reps. Mobley and Queen), but they would have supported us. If the moratorium passes the committee Tuesday, it will be eligible for introduction in the short session that begins Wednesday. What does this mean? It would mean that the Senate could vote on the proposed moratorium, and this could effectively kill the autism insurance bill.
Please do three things:
1. Call the chairs of the Study Committee Friday, Monday, or Tuesday morning, asking them not to recommend a moratorium bill. Tell them that their moratorium bill will kill our autism insurance bill that we’ve worked on for years. Leave a message with your name and the reason you are calling if you get voicemail:
- Rep. Jeff Collins: 919-733-5802
- Rep. Jim Fulghum: 919-733-5860
- Sen. David Curtis: (919)-715-3038
- Sen. Fletcher Hartsell: 919-733-7223
If for some reason you cannot call and leave a message, you may write to the Committee Chairs. Calls will be most effective, but we also want to make sure your voice is heard however it can be.
2. Ask the House members of the Study Committee to attend the meeting on Tuesday and vote AGAINST the moratorium. The message: A vote FOR the proposed moratorium is a vote AGAINST Autism Insurance Reform (H498). Please attend the ACA Study Committee hearing on Tuesday, May 14, at 1:00 p.m. and vote against a moratorium.
3. Show up for the hearing on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in Room 643 of the Legislative Office Building in Raleigh. We will have Autism Society of North Carolina stickers for you to wear in support. If you can make it, please RSVP by contacting Jennifer Mahan, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at jmahan@autismsociety-nc.org or 919-865-5068. Tips for contacting your elected officials and talking points on autism insurance coverage can be found on the ASNC website.
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