The Fall 2010 elections are over, the votes are counted and the political ads are finally over!  The Alliance for Autism Insurance Reform in Ohio, including the Autism Society of Ohio has been meeting to determine how this will affect the Autism Insurance Coverage bill - HB 8 - and where we go from here. First and foremost - THANK YOU for all of your work with legislators at the grassroots level on HB8!

Our efforts at the state level will continue to need the support of grassroots advocates like yourselves to be successful. However, it does not look like the Ohio Senate will be moving on HB 8 in the remaining days of the current session, know as the "lame duck session".  The Columbus Dispatch writes "With Republican John Kasich toppling Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland, and Republicans recapturing the Ohio House by a wide margin, the Republican-controlled Senate may not move a single bill the rest of the year.  “I’ll be honest with you, as president of the Senate for two more months, I’d love to be able to work on some things that we have in front of us, and I’d love to be able to work on the capital budget and get that done,” [Senate President] Harris said. “Having said that, I think the new governor ought to have an opportunity to say what he wants to be able to do, and I’m inclined to support what he wants to do.”  It is likely that the only actions by the Senate in lame duck will be on creating a Vietnam Veterans Day and to reject Strickland’s seven appointees to the Ohio Casino Control Commission. "Harris said Kasich should get to appoint his own members, if that is what he wants to do." the Dispatch writes.

What does this mean moving forward in the 129th General Assembly?  The first six months of 2011 will be consumed with the budget bill - Ohio has an $8 Billion deficit so it will be a difficult process, and the new budget must be completed and signed by the Governor by June 30, 2011.  The members of the Alliance for Autism Insurance Reform in Ohio will be meeting yet this year to develop a plan for the best way to move forward to provide Autism Insurance Coverage for Ohioans.  All options will be discussed as we determine what the best approach will be.  Things will definitely be more challenging legislatively in the next session, but there may be other avenues that can be addressed on this issue. We will keep you posted on how you can assist in these efforts.

Thank you again for your support of Autism Insurance Coverage!  We will continue to need your support as we work through the budget process preserving services for individuals with autism, so your work is not over!  We will continue to send out legislative updates on autism related issues.   Please sign up for our mailing list to receive our newlestter with the lastest information on this important issue.