SB 931 up for a vote in November! (VA parity bill)
Help lobby the Commission to support VA's parity bill!

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Background: SB 931 was introduced into the Virginia Senate in January. It was assigned to the Special Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits.  They held a hearing on September 20th.  The ACA worked with Virginia Prosthetics and turned out over 50 people who attended the hearing.  More than half of the activists also testified in support of the bill.  The Chairman noted that this was the largest turnout he had ever seen at a commission hearing. 

 

The commission held a second meeting to vote on the bill in October, but they did not have enough members in attendance to make their decision official.  They will hold a second hearing to vote on the bill on November 29th

  

Help push for parity in Virginia?

 

  • Attend the hearing →  The next meeting of the Advisory Commission in 2007 will be held on Thursday, November 29, 2007 in House Room D in the General Assembly Building.  Contact state@amputee-coalition.org to find out more. 

 

  • Contact the commission → Urge Chairman Ware to support Senate Bill 931.  Send a letter to Chairman Ware in care of Florence Morris, the commission staff person.

 

    • Address: Florence Morris, Bureau of Insurance, Life and Health Division, P.O. Box 1157, Richmond, VA, 23218
    • E-mail: Florence.Morris@scc.virginia.gov
    • Fax: 804-371-9944

 

NOTE:  The letters need to be mailed, emailed or faxed before Wednesday, November 21st.  The commission will vote on the bill the following Thursday. 

Sample Letter

Dear Chairman Ware and commission members,

 

   I am writing in regards to Senate Bill 931.  This bill is smart policy for the state of Virginia.  It offers the opportunity to save money in both the public and private sector by providing appropriate care for amputees.  This allows individuals to remain employed, productive members of society.  It also avoids the complications that result when someone is forced into a wheelchair or onto crutches for an extended period of time.  

 

    Obviously, the biggest concern anybody has about passing a new mandate is cost. People fear that big jumps in the cost of insurance will reduce access to health care.  None of us want to see health insurance costs pushed beyond the reach of the average consumer.  Policy reports have been done in Massachusetts, California, Colorado, New Jersey and right here in Virginia.  They have found that providing prosthetics is low cost to individual consumers.  Furthermore, it also saves money in the public and private sector. 

 

I urge you to support this bill not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because the data proves it is a common sense policy.

 

Sincerely,

 

NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE 

 

 

Click here to find out more about the Virginia campaign. 

 

→ Help support parity in Virginia and throughout the country!  Click here to find out how. 

 

Also, if you are in the DC metro area, you should clear your calendar to come to the ACA's advocacy office in downtown Washington for our monthly volunteer night!

 

 

 

 

 

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