Fw: S.C. med insurance now pays up to $50K for autism services

[Guest guest]

Just in case you SC residents haven't seen this yet. I'm in NC, and I hope this

gets things moving here.

Meleah

S.C. med insurance now pays up to $50K for autism services

WOW! This is HUGE! So close to here!. Let's all move to SC! :-) I wish I

could take advantage of this!

" A coalition of parents of children with autism have won a stunning victory in

South Carolina. 's Law, a bill that will require private insurers to pay up

to $50,000 per year for health care and services, including ABA, for people with

autism overcame a Governor's veto today to become law. This is a victory of

national significance. If this law can pass in South Carolina it can be passed

in any state, if we have the orgnaization, drive and fortitude displayed by the

parents in South Carolina.

I am speechless in admiration for these iindomitable advocates.

Lorri Unumb, the architect of this brilliant campaign, wrote this account of

today's events.

As I'm sure you've heard by now from multiple sources, " 's Law " is finally

law! Yippee!!! The last 24 hours have been an amazing, incredible roller coaster

ride, as have the last 2 years.

As you all know, the governor vetoed our bill after 10:00 last night. (See veto

message here: http://www.scgovernor.com/uploads/upload/S.20.pdf)

Despite this late notice, more than 50 of you showed up at the State House first

thing this morning, wearing autism shirts, nametags, buttons, and highly visible

ribbons made this morning by Margie on (thanks, Margie!) We stood at the

top of the State House escalators and accosted every possible legislator to ask

for their vote one more time! We even had a little impromptu pep rally in the

lobby when Sen. , Sen. Lourie, and Rep. Skipper stopped

by to thank us for our presence, encourage us, and give us last-minute tips on

obtaining the needed 2/3 vote for an override.

The Senate acted on the veto first, probably by 11:00 or so this morning. Sen.

of Greenville asked for unanimous consent to override the veto. There

were a few comments and then a real scare when a senator from asked to

hold up the vote for a while. Grumbles and mumbles ensued, and some other

senators were clearly frustrated with him. He then backed off a little and said

he just needed 2 or 3 minutes to study the governor's veto statement. Things got

confusing, but Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer honored his request, moved on to another

bill, and then came right back to our veto issue. Senators and Malloy

then pulled a 1-2 punch and managed to get the veto unanimously overridden

without even going through a formal vote. All was said and done before we knew

it, so our balcony gang crossed the lobby into the House chamber.

In the House, we waited for a LONG time while the House discussed lots of other

matters. Then, I was sure our chance of getting on the agenda was lost when

Speaker Pro Tem and Speaker Harrell delivered long, passionate speeches as

part of a tiff, shall we say, that's going on this week between the House and

the Senate. At that point, I was afraid we'd get lost in the crossfire and the

debates over the two major bills they can't agree on. Fortunately, our primary

sponsors - Skipper this year and Ballentine last year - pulled the

Speaker aside and asked him to please take up the autism bill right before

lunch. Speaker Harrell did just that.

Rep. made a brief plea to the members for a quick, clean override. The

Speaker was ready to call for a vote, and then another representative rose to

speak. My heart stopped, because I had not spoken to this representative and had

no idea what he wanted to say. I held my breath as Rep. B.R. Skelton started:

" My mama taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say about a person,

you don't say anything at all. Well, I can't think of anything nice to say about

the governor's veto of the autism bill. " I breathed a sigh of relief.

He then went on to relate what a constituent had said to him this morning. The

constituent, a grandfather who called on behalf of 's Law and whose identity

I don't yet know, gave Rep. Skelton an ear-full about what he thought of the

governor's veto and questioned whether the governor had ever met a family

without health insurance. It was pretty brutal, and it brought audible reactions

from the House members. Although I was obviously glad that Rep. Skelton felt

moved enough by this constituent's message to speak on our behalf, I began to

worry that the critical words were going to anger the governor's buddies in the

House and backfire. I worried even more when the next speaker to rise was Rep.

Jim Merrill, the House Republican Majority Leader and a Sanford friend. Rep.

Merrill said he didn't think we needed to get into personal attacks (a

paraphrase; I can't remember his exact words), but that he thought we should

nevertheless override the veto because the parties

had worked so hard to reach a compromise on this important issue. With that, the

Speaker called the vote. I was prepared for a voice vote (ayes v. nays), but

then someone called for a roll call vote. A roll call can be a little dangerous

- the governor can see which of his friends cast affirmative votes against his

veto - so I got nervous again. As each legislator cast his or her vote, his or

her name on the display board changed colors. " Green " meant a vote in favor of

the override, and I can't tell you what color signified a vote to uphold the

veto, because there were none! 114 members voted, and, one by one, 114 names

turned green on the big board.

And then the tears began to flow. But it wasn't just Marcella and me crying this

time. (, unfortunately, was in Texas today and didn't get to witness in

person.) My husband beside me started tearing up. Derrick and Sandrine Howle in

the front row were crying. Everywhere I looked around in the balcony, a parent,

a grandparent, an aunt, a cousin, a friend of a child with autism was weeping.

Just then, all members of the House rose to their feet, turned toward us in the

balcony, and erupted into applause. They gave us an emotional standing ovation

for the tireless efforts of this grassroots gang, and they clearly felt proud of

helping us override what some called a " cruel " veto.

Tears, hugs, and celebrations continued in the lobby of the State House, with

senators and legislators coming out to greet and congratulate us. So many

expressed the sentiment that they were honored to be part of this effort, which

to them represented the political system at its purest - citizens petitioning

their government for help and succeeding (though not without great difficulty

and heartache).

I cannot begin to thank you enough for making this grassroots effort possible.

We have worked for two years with no budget and no lobbyist - seemingly

impossible conditions in today's political world. But we had passion,

determination, and an incredibly worthwhile cause. Each and every one of you who

wrote an e-mail, sent a letter, made a phone call, or visited your legislator

made a difference. Like I said above, I don't even know who the grandfather is

that called B.R. Skelton today, but that one call inspired Rep. Skelton to make

an impassioned plea on our behalf. You never know which phone call or e-mail

made the difference for each legislator, so every one of you is to be commended

for every single act you took in support of 's Law.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not extend my super-special thanks to &

Cliff Rollins, Marcella & Steve Ridley, Derrick & Sandrine Howle, and Dan Unumb,

without whose encouragement and advocacy this would have never happened.

I'm not going to plead with you to write any more letters or make any more phone

calls, but I'm sure your legislator would love to get a note of thanks if you

feel so inspired. They deserve to be thanked for unanimously trumping the

governor's veto less than 24 hours after it was issued.

Although I obviously wish my son were not struggling with autism, I am

today very grateful and honored to be part of this autism community.

With deepest gratitude,

Lorri J "

--Cheri

The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw

before.

-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need a break? Find your escape route with Live Search Maps.

[Guest guest]

I hope so too. I live in NC as well. In Raleigh

robin wrote: Just in case you SC residents

haven't seen this yet. I'm in NC, and I hope this gets things moving here.

Meleah

S.C. med insurance now pays up to $50K for autism services

WOW! This is HUGE! So close to here!. Let's all move to SC! :-) I wish I could

take advantage of this!

" A coalition of parents of children with autism have won a stunning victory in

South Carolina. 's Law, a bill that will require private insurers to pay up

to $50,000 per year for health care and services, including ABA, for people with

autism overcame a Governor's veto today to become law. This is a victory of

national significance. If this law can pass in South Carolina it can be passed

in any state, if we have the orgnaization, drive and fortitude displayed by the

parents in South Carolina.

I am speechless in admiration for these iindomitable advocates.

Lorri Unumb, the architect of this brilliant campaign, wrote this account of

today's events.

As I'm sure you've heard by now from multiple sources, " 's Law " is finally

law! Yippee!!! The last 24 hours have been an amazing, incredible roller coaster

ride, as have the last 2 years.

As you all know, the governor vetoed our bill after 10:00 last night. (See veto

message here: http://www.scgovernor.com/uploads/upload/S.20.pdf)

Despite this late notice, more than 50 of you showed up at the State House first

thing this morning, wearing autism shirts, nametags, buttons, and highly visible

ribbons made this morning by Margie on (thanks, Margie!) We stood at the

top of the State House escalators and accosted every possible legislator to ask

for their vote one more time! We even had a little impromptu pep rally in the

lobby when Sen. , Sen. Lourie, and Rep. Skipper stopped

by to thank us for our presence, encourage us, and give us last-minute tips on

obtaining the needed 2/3 vote for an override.

The Senate acted on the veto first, probably by 11:00 or so this morning. Sen.

of Greenville asked for unanimous consent to override the veto. There

were a few comments and then a real scare when a senator from asked to

hold up the vote for a while. Grumbles and mumbles ensued, and some other

senators were clearly frustrated with him. He then backed off a little and said

he just needed 2 or 3 minutes to study the governor's veto statement. Things got

confusing, but Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer honored his request, moved on to another

bill, and then came right back to our veto issue. Senators and Malloy

then pulled a 1-2 punch and managed to get the veto unanimously overridden

without even going through a formal vote. All was said and done before we knew

it, so our balcony gang crossed the lobby into the House chamber.

In the House, we waited for a LONG time while the House discussed lots of other

matters. Then, I was sure our chance of getting on the agenda was lost when

Speaker Pro Tem and Speaker Harrell delivered long, passionate speeches as

part of a tiff, shall we say, that's going on this week between the House and

the Senate. At that point, I was afraid we'd get lost in the crossfire and the

debates over the two major bills they can't agree on. Fortunately, our primary

sponsors - Skipper this year and Ballentine last year - pulled the

Speaker aside and asked him to please take up the autism bill right before

lunch. Speaker Harrell did just that.

Rep. made a brief plea to the members for a quick, clean override. The

Speaker was ready to call for a vote, and then another representative rose to

speak. My heart stopped, because I had not spoken to this representative and had

no idea what he wanted to say. I held my breath as Rep. B.R. Skelton started:

" My mama taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say about a person,

you don't say anything at all. Well, I can't think of anything nice to say about

the governor's veto of the autism bill. " I breathed a sigh of relief.

He then went on to relate what a constituent had said to him this morning. The

constituent, a grandfather who called on behalf of 's Law and whose identity

I don't yet know, gave Rep. Skelton an ear-full about what he thought of the

governor's veto and questioned whether the governor had ever met a family

without health insurance. It was pretty brutal, and it brought audible reactions

from the House members. Although I was obviously glad that Rep. Skelton felt

moved enough by this constituent's message to speak on our behalf, I began to

worry that the critical words were going to anger the governor's buddies in the

House and backfire. I worried even more when the next speaker to rise was Rep.

Jim Merrill, the House Republican Majority Leader and a Sanford friend. Rep.

Merrill said he didn't think we needed to get into personal attacks (a

paraphrase; I can't remember his exact words), but that he thought we should

nevertheless override the veto because the parties

had worked so hard to reach a compromise on this important issue. With that, the

Speaker called the vote. I was prepared for a voice vote (ayes v. nays), but

then someone called for a roll call vote. A roll call can be a little dangerous

- the governor can see which of his friends cast affirmative votes against his

veto - so I got nervous again. As each legislator cast his or her vote, his or

her name on the display board changed colors. " Green " meant a vote in favor of

the override, and I can't tell you what color signified a vote to uphold the

veto, because there were none! 114 members voted, and, one by one, 114 names

turned green on the big board.

And then the tears began to flow. But it wasn't just Marcella and me crying this

time. (, unfortunately, was in Texas today and didn't get to witness in

person.) My husband beside me started tearing up. Derrick and Sandrine Howle in

the front row were crying. Everywhere I looked around in the balcony, a parent,

a grandparent, an aunt, a cousin, a friend of a child with autism was weeping.

Just then, all members of the House rose to their feet, turned toward us in the

balcony, and erupted into applause. They gave us an emotional standing ovation

for the tireless efforts of this grassroots gang, and they clearly felt proud of

helping us override what some called a " cruel " veto.

Tears, hugs, and celebrations continued in the lobby of the State House, with

senators and legislators coming out to greet and congratulate us. So many

expressed the sentiment that they were honored to be part of this effort, which

to them represented the political system at its purest - citizens petitioning

their government for help and succeeding (though not without great difficulty

and heartache).

I cannot begin to thank you enough for making this grassroots effort possible.

We have worked for two years with no budget and no lobbyist - seemingly

impossible conditions in today's political world. But we had passion,

determination, and an incredibly worthwhile cause. Each and every one of you who

wrote an e-mail, sent a letter, made a phone call, or visited your legislator

made a difference. Like I said above, I don't even know who the grandfather is

that called B.R. Skelton today, but that one call inspired Rep. Skelton to make

an impassioned plea on our behalf. You never know which phone call or e-mail

made the difference for each legislator, so every one of you is to be commended

for every single act you took in support of 's Law.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not extend my super-special thanks to &

Cliff Rollins, Marcella & Steve Ridley, Derrick & Sandrine Howle, and Dan Unumb,

without whose encouragement and advocacy this would have never happened.

I'm not going to plead with you to write any more letters or make any more phone

calls, but I'm sure your legislator would love to get a note of thanks if you

feel so inspired. They deserve to be thanked for unanimously trumping the

governor's veto less than 24 hours after it was issued.

Although I obviously wish my son were not struggling with autism, I am

today very grateful and honored to be part of this autism community.

With deepest gratitude,

Lorri J "

--Cheri

The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw

before.

-

----------------------------------------------------------

Need a break? Find your escape route with Live Search Maps.