Easter Seals testifies on health care reform before Senate committee
by Katy
Last Thursday Easter Seals staff testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), telling them that meeting the needs of people with autism and other disabilities is an important component of health care reform.
Mary Andrus, Easter Seals Assistant Vice President for Government Relations and Co-Chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities’ Health Care Task Force, told committee members that, “an essential element of health care reform is ensuring that vulnerable populations have access to coverage that meets their care needs.” Andrus also stated that, “for persons with disabilities and chronically ill older Americans — arguably the most vulnerable populations in the nation — long-term services and supports are their primary unmet care need, and are critical to promoting health and preventing illness.”
Easter Seals believes that health care reform must guarantee that all Americans, including people with autism and other disabilities, have access to high quality, affordable health care that meets their individual needs.
What can you do? Contact your lawmakers and urge them to support health care reform legislation and to support inclusion of long term services in health care reform.