Connecticut Update

by Elizabeth Mansfield

The good news is that the sponsors of the original bill added prosthetic parity language as an amendment to Military Healthcare Bill SB 24 (www.cga.ct.gov/2005/amd/s/2005SB-00024-R00SC-AMD.htm).

The bad news is that they arbitrarily capped the “benefit” amount at $7,500 per limb per year.
The good news is that SB 24, which included this amendment, died with the close of the session (www.senaterepublicans.ct.gov/press/herlihy/053105.htm). Though anyone who currently has less than $7,500 as a benefit or whose prosthesis costs less than that may feel that this bill would have been a victory, it is patently unfair to above-knee amputees, hip-disarticulation amputees, upper-extremity myoelectric users, etc. If the amendment had passed, it would have been extremely difficult to come back next year and fight to get that amount raised.

Though the parity effort will have to wait until next year, the Connecticut group will now be able to start with a bill that does not include arbitrary caps.

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5 Tips in Starting Your Parity Efforts by Elizabeth Mansfield

1. Get your legislative calendar in order to plan your
time-line

2. Gather your "evidence" - individual case stories
and copies of benefit summaries from the insurance
plans in your state that have capped or eliminated
prosthetic benefits.
It is especially helpful to document the stories of
the people who used to have coverage and whose jobs
and insurer have not changed but whose prosthetic
benefits have been capped and/or eliminated.

3. Find out who is funding prosthetic coverage - if
anyone is - for people who are working, have insurance
but inadequate benefits and get the numbers. For
example, in CT it is the Bureau of Rehabilitation
Services. They paid 250,000 on behalf of people with
insurance who had no/inadequate prosthetic benefits
and needed their prosthesis to work.

4. Collect a database of contacts of people who are
going to provide support when your effort is launched.
Start providing info in the facilities on the effort
- the ACA has a parity update page in every inMotion
issue. You might like to copy it and post it in your
waiting and fitting rooms. Find a "spokesperson" who
is articulate, intelligent, passionately committed and
has a compelling story to tell. FYI - I recommend
that the "spokesperson" is someone who is an amputee
or family member and not a prosthetist.

5. Keep the ACA updated so we can keep the site and Blog
updated. Sent updates to elizabethmansfield@yahoo.com and lduncan@amputee-coalition.org.

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What's going on in Connecticut?

Visit http://paritynow.blogspot.com for more information or contact Elizabeth Mansfield at elizabethmansfield@yahoo.com

Also visit Connecticut General Assembly Public Bill Tracking
http://www.cga.ct.gov/aspx/cgapublicbilltrack/cgapublicbilltrack.aspx

See copy of Bill at
http://www.amputee-coalition.org/advocacy/ct-parity.html

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Parity Effort in New Mexico

New Mexcio has already started a legislative committee on disability issues and has held a seminar just before the Dallas ACA Conference on how to address and present bills before Legislature. They are continuing with the NM Parity group and have done a mock bill presentation to some legislative members.

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Parity Effort in Kentucky

The parity effort is kicking off in Kentucky with Eric Miller as point person in that state.

For more information on the Kentucky efforts contact Elizabeth Mansfield at elizabethmansfield@yahoo.com

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The Parity Effort in Texas

Charlet Thompson from Ft. Worth will head the Texas Parity Group and coordinate
efforts so we can start moving forward. Paul Greene is to gather all the healthcare mandates
to see who voted for and against. Ellen Fernandes will contact all the support
groups in Texas that she is aware of. Ellen is sending them the letter of introduction if
there aren't any changes. They are planning on meeting in Austin on a Saturday in October.

Would be a day trip for those who don't want to stay over. (10:00-4:00) Need a strategy but got to have time to gather facts and figures. They should have their "core" group by then.

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