Ohio Legislature's Lame Duck Session looks busy!

[Guest guest]

Dear Friend of ASO:

It will be a busy week at the Statehouse this week - the lame duck session looks to be interesting! There are several pieces of legislation that will affect persons with autism. Please contact your legislators regarding this legislation. Thanks to the ARC of Ohio for compiling this list. FYI - please share.

Sincerely,

Barbara C. YavorcikPresidentAutism Society of Ohio701 S. Main St.Akron, OH 44311(330) 376-0211fax: (330) 376-1226email: askASO@...home: byavorcik@...web: www.autismohio.org

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As promised, the Ohio General Assembly is making the lame duck session an eventful one. Listed are hearing dates for this week on bills that the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council has identified as important.

Senate Bill 116 (Mental Health Parity Bill) 4th Hearing - Possible Vote - 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee (North Hearing Room) - Amendments are expected. Some amendments that were attempted in the last GA looked like this:

Hearing on Application of Insurance Mandate - This amendment would require the Superintendent of Insurance to determine whether mandate is equally applied to all plans. (Superintendent cannot apply state law to plans governed by federal law {ERISA}, effectively killing parity bill.)

Repeal Section 3901.71 of the Ohio Revised Code - This amendment would repeal the section of law that requires Superintendent of Insurance to determine whether a mandate is equally applied to all plans. (Repeals a roadblock in current statute that is sidestepped by using "notwithstanding" clause.)

Benefits Equal Medicaid and Medicare - Limits mental health insurance benefits to the lesser of those currently offered under Medicaid and Medicare. (Medicare is the lesser of the two, limiting coverage for inpatient treatment to 190 lifetime days, 50% reimbursement for outpatient, compared to 80% for physical ailments.)

Small Business Exemption - Exempts employers of 100 or less employees from offering mental health insurance benefits.

Opt-Out Provision - Allows employers of 100 to 500 employees to opt-out of offering mental health insurance benefits if their insurance premiums increase by 2.5% or more by offering mental health benefits.

Mandatory Offering - Requires insurance providers to offer mental health insurance benefits to employers rather than require that the benefits be provided.

State and Local Mental Health Coverage - Clarifies that state and local government insurance plans cover mental health benefits.

Each of these amendments and others were not supported by the bill's sponsor or advocates for parity and were successfully defeated in 2003.

House Bill 180 (Mental Health Parity Bill) - 3rd Hearing - 2:00 p.m. Tuesday in House Insurance Committee (Room 017) - Proponent/Opponent/Interested Party Testimony - Word on the street is that a deal has been struck to get a parity bill passed. It appears the Senate version is closer to moving on this one.

House Bill 431 (Special Education Scholarships) 4th Hearing - Possible Vote - 3:30 p.m. Tuesday & 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the House Education Committee (Room 116) - A substitute version of the bill is expected - many of the changes sought by DD Council and other interested groups have been incorporated into the substitute bill, which include:

A change in the use of the term "parent" to the term "eligible applicant" An allowance for eligible students over the age of 18 to participate in the program The creation of a comparison document that shows the rights under current law and the rights under the scholarship, which may differ The requirement that eligible applicants to the scholarship be provided the comparison document noted above in order to receive the scholarship (informed consent) A clarification that scholarship payments be made directly to the provider rather than to the eligible applicant A change that protects eligible applicants from losing scholarship funds during administrative appeals regarding changes in previously negotiated services with their local school district (stay put)

The draft substitute version of the bill also makes the Special Education Scholarship program a pilot program for a period of six years (2008-2013) and caps participation to 3% of eligible students.

The draft substitute version of the bill does not fully implement recommendations made by DD Council in regards to formative evaluations. Council has asked that formative evaluations:

Add requirements that the evaluation:

Be stratified by disability Analyzes the effect that participation in the scholarship program, stratified by disability, has on public special education programs, including the fiscal impact to public special education programs Documents the educational outcomes of students on IEPs in both the public and alternative special education programs

Be conducted on a continuing basis Include an appropriation to provide the Ohio Department of Education with sufficient funding to provide the necessary oversight and administration of the scholarship program (due to the limited nature of biennial budgeting, DD Council stresses the need that future General Assemblies be committed to providing this support)

House Bill 441 (Public Meetings via Teleconference) - 1st Hearing - 4:00 p.m. Wednesday - Senate State and Local Gov't, Veterans Affairs (South Hearing Room)- Sponsor Testimony - DD Council is seeking an amendment that would include three state disability related organizations in the pilot program created by this bill. The bill, if amended, would allow members of the DD Council, SILC and Governor's Council on People with Disabilities to participate in Council meetings via teleconference and video teleconference. Council has been working with the bill's sponsor and interested parties to draft an amendment to be included into the pilot program.

Senate Bill 369 (Medicaid Buy In) - 1st Hearing - 2:30 p.m. Tuesday - Senate Finance and Financial Institutions (Senate Finance Hearing Room) - Sponsor Testimony - Senator Stivers will be given an opportunity to explain to the committee the need for the bill and to answer questions. The House Finance and Appropriations Committee received sponsor testimony this past week from Rep. Jon .

A few other bills that may garner additional attention include:

House Bill 623 - Permits individuals to continue to receive temporary or permanent total disability compensation if they have been elected to a part-time public office, so long as they are not compensated more than $7,500 per year for the position and are not required to do manual labor as part of their job. - Scheduled for Sponsor and Proponent Testimony.

Senate Bill 323/HB 583 - Restrictions on the purchase and use of mercury devices by and in schools, and the offering for sale of mercury products in Ohio, with a few exceptions. Scheduled in both chambers - up for a vote in both committees.