Dear GOP Guys:
While we appreciate you guys taking a reasonable stance, please, leave this one alone. Go home, take a chill pill and some media training and start over next year!
As the parent of a child who is on the severe end of the spectrum and whose child was misdiagnosed until the age of 4-1/2 and who DID NOT receive the early intervention that is so desperately needed, I am here to tell you, Mr. Peterson that you have no idea how Nick's Law will be used by parents. Each child is different. It often takes years before the right combination of therapies is determined to work for a specific child, so some parents may only use 1/3 of the benefits a year under Nick's Law, where others may need to use 2/3 of the benefits. Mr. Peterson, I don't know how many times we have to tell you this, it is virtually impossible for every child covered to use the maximum benefits each year. Mr. Peterson does not care to learn about autism, he is blinded by big insurance monies. He cares NOTHING for our state's most vulnerable population of children with disabilities, yet he is associated with the Salvation Army, an organization dedicated to helping the less fortunate and sharing God's message. Mr. Peterson, you are nothing but a fake. You are not representing your constituents, you are representing big insurance, plain and simple. Shame on you! Your sound bites like to insinuate that we are just a bunch of emotional parents. We had to get past the emotion the day our children were diagnosed and have been fighting for them ever since. We fight for the schools to provide a decent education, we fight with doctors in this state who know little to nothing about autism, and we continually fight with insurance companies who refuse to pay for anything related to autism. These children can recover and lead productive lives and if you cared to learn about this disease, you would realize this. Yet you and Speaker Benge would rather just forget about these children and make the taxpayer pick up the tab through social services. Shame on you! I'm taking my son to the Capitol next week and you and Speaker Benge can tell him to his face that you don't think he is worth saving. Robyne Rohde, Mommy to Nicholas (Nick's Law).
As for the GOP Fan: It is unfortunate that you see fit to respond to this serious topic in such a flipant manner. One in every 94 boys in our state are affected by this disease whose symptoms can be reversed. Clearly, you have been blessed not to have been touched by this disease who for all intents and purposes destroys the life of a child and the recovery process is long and expensive. I suggest you learn a little about this topic (of course Benge and Peterson won't even do that) before you spout out your words of wisdom. The media training you are referring to must be directed toward Peterson (did you read the article this week about him entitled: Open mouth, insert foot?). He and Benge have divided their party in such a manner that come November, they won't be here to start over again. By the way, each day a child goes without treatment is a day that child could be lost forever, they don't have another year to wait.
Hi, I'm money. I will increase on everyone's insurance if Nicks Law passes. We should force everyone to pay for some people's insurance just because.
I have a son with Asperger's which is a mild form of autism. He required nothing more than OT and PT which he received in school at an early age. He was in a class with full-blown autistic kids who with the same therapy made HUGE and significant changes and at the end of the school year some were communicating and engaged in their surroundings. As a parent of an autistic child perhaps I am bias, but I have witnessed the prison these children live in and I am very willing to spend a few extra dollars to help them in any way. Many times treatment is simply a few sessions of OT and PT each week. Insurance is already a rip off, prescriptions are insanely overpriced, everyone in the world is popping a pill for some disorder....what's a few more dollars? Our state legislators should be ashamed for not even hearing this bill....shame, shame, shame. It's time to kick the insurance lobby to the curb and do the right thing because EVERY child is worth it!
It's not just how parents will use this, its the very premise that government has the right to tell insurance companies what they have to cover... imagine the can of worms that gets opened with this idea, who decides that autism is more important that other disabilities!?! WHAT IS NEXT????? COME ON... is this a free market or isn't it...
Amen, Josh B! What cracks me up is the people who call themselves conservative, but will defend this sort of crap legislation, using the old communist mentality that need equals right.
To Josh and Mr. Conservative
I appreciate your efforts to defend the free market. Have you ever wondered why the free market endorses discrimination for such disorders as autism? It was once covered and over the last decade, exclusionary phrases have been inserted to eliminate coverage. Why autism? Perhaps since it is an epidemic. So much for the free market
Free market did not endorse or want to help the disabled community and it took federal action signed by a Republican president ADA.
You are so worried about your insurance policy, you do not know why your insurance keeps going up every year. It is not because of mandates. Check out the total premium income that is reported by all health insurance companies to the State Dept of Insurance. The income has risen nearly 15% each year for the last 5 years. Also check out the total claims filed and paid. It has increased nearly 2% each year. So why increase premiums if there is no or little increase in claims? During those years, our insurance companies have reported record profits, on the backs of you and I.
Our government is forcing us to what you are calling one payer insurance or known as Universal Health care by the government. So much for the free market or Republican ideals. They are allowing insurance companies to cleanse their risk pools of less desireable customers by inserting exclusionary phrases or by simply reducing benefits each year.
Quit walking in lock step with the leadership of the state Republican party. Most of the conservative thinkers in the state agree with our concept. Allow us to work with the insurance companies instead of seeking taxpayer funded services.
You can pay a few cents more in insurance or hundreds more in state income taxes to cover the cost of state services. You are advocating for the thousands of families to state paid for services. How ironic is that.
Most of the state republican legislators are compassionate conservatives. What is so compassionate when they turn their back on thousands of Oklahoma children. What is so conservative when they force families to go bankrupt, divorce rates of 80%, and are forced onto state services.
The cost is huge and will only get worse. So get ready to say goodbye to your tax cuts and other benefits.
Wayne Rohde
Edmond, OK
oh, by the way, I am a registered republican who will gladly kick out the rascals that are ruining our party(Benge, Cargill, Peterson, Holland, Worthen)
How is the government telling insurance companies what and who to cover any different than the current set up where insurance companies tell those of us paying for their service what and who they will cover? Talk about double standard. Free market my a$$.
Mr. Rohde, I have nothing against parents of autistic kids, nor against the kids themselves, but I have plenty against a self-described conservative who believes government should step outside it's legitimate purposes of protecting life, liberty and property, just because he stands to benefit. The free market does work, and works extremely well. The problem is, in this case, it's not helping forcing others to help you care for your kid, so you want to throw your conservative principles aside.
As for the person who questioned the difference between an insurance company stating what they will or will not cover, that's their right as owners of the company. As long as they're being honest and up front, they shouldn't be forced to knowingly take a hit, just so someone else won't have to.
Protecting life, liberty and property...okay. Sounds like protecting life is what Nick's Law is all about. When these kids do not get treatment, their lives are locked away behind walls that will never come down. That is protecting life and that is a legitimate aim of government and that is why Nick's Law should pass - or at least get an up-or-down vote.
How do you think prostate cancer screening, ED medication, mamograms, and birth control medication, became part of your basic policy? All because of mandates. If states did not mandate these benefits, insurance companies would continue to cover only the most minor of procedures.
If the government didn't step in and tell these companies to do what is right, we would still have 'separate but equal' segregation in public schools or businesses would be allowed to only sell their goods just to white people. At some level, if governement doesn't step in, the insurance companies wouldn't pay for anything. Look at your dental insurance. It is worthless, it barely pays for anything.
Your individual insurance premiums will rise less than 1% if at all according to the Council for Affordable Healthcare once the autism insurance bill is passed.
Or we could just do what Hitler did and get rid of all the 'undesirables', by not providing coverage. Of course to him the undesirables were the mentally handicapped, jews, catholics, etc. These categories of people are no different than the autistic children.
Mr. Conservative
You might want to read the biography of Ronald Reagan again. I know him, because I worked for the man. He would never allow this discrimination to proceed.
Today's conservative is turning their backs against others if it costs them money or prevents them to obtain or secure the almighty dollar.
Read the bio of Barry Goldwater by William Buckley. There is a chapter in his book outlining when government should and needs to intervene in the private sector. Some is about tax policy and another part is about creating a level playing field for all and eliminating discrimination.
When you are finished, then let's talk. Do you realize that you and I have discussed more about this topic then was allowed in the state House this past session? I want to have dialogue from all points of view, but your elected official was not able to voice their vote on behalf of you. How conservative is that? Maybe unconstitutional.
Jay -- nice argument. I could use that to defend welfare, self-funded health plans being forced to cover dependent pregnancies and/or abortions, state-funded AIDS treatment for promiscuous individuals with no common sense, farm subsidies for people too lazy to work, government bailouts of corporations, and pretty much every government ta-ta you want to poke out, but I won't. Why? Because I understand that keeping these kids lives from being meaningless and vacuous is not the job of government. You don't break one of the three cardinal responsibilities of government to prop up a sloppy, loose, fallacious interpretation of another.
Mr. Rohde -- nice argument, but it's flawed in that this isn't about "eliminating discrimination"; it's taking away the right of someone to do legitimate business as they see fit. If an insurance company said they'd insure autism treatment and then reneged on it, we'd be on the same side of the fence. But that's not what this is about. It's about, to paraphrase an old groaner, "Take my kid's medical bills.... please?".
Mr. Conservative (more like I have mine and I do not care about you)
Insurance companies have purposely inserted exclusionary phrases into policies over the last 5-7 years to eliminate coverage for autism. It was covered at one time. If you do not think that is discrimination, then I can not help you.
If you think it is OK for insurance companies to transer coverage of medical conditions from insurance risk pools to the state taxpayers, then you start paying for the bills. Take my medical bills... please. How about take my state income tax increases...please.
You are so worried about the pennies on insurance, that you can not see your state income tax bill going up in the near future. That is the reason why Texas, Arizon, Florida, South Carolina passed legislation. It is the fiscally responsible this to do for the taxpayers. Oh by the way, it was the morally just reason to do it for the children. Something that the conservative party in Oklahoma has forgotten about.
Not too compassionate conservative now are we!!
The State House Republican members are all in favor of this bill except for a small handful. They want to wait until next year after the election cycle to get it done. Sounds like insurance lobby money is too much to turn their back on.
Commenting by HaloScan
