Here is How YOU Can Help: Contact your Michigan senator today and ask them to pass meaningful autism insurance reform this session. Ask them if we can count on them voting YES for the autism insurance legislation. If you get any kind of definitive answer, whether it is Yes, No, or Undecided from the staff or the Senator, please let us know, as we will be keeping an updated list of Yes votes. There are currently 37 Senators. All we need are 19 YES votes.
1. First and foremost, pick up the phone and call your Michigan State Senator. You can find out who your Michigan State Senator is and their phone number HERE. Be polite, but persistent. Don't be concerned if your senator is not in their office. Most of the Senators will be gone for the next two weeks on vacation, but their staff will still be there answering the phone and counting calls. Talk with their staff and let them know how critical it is that this legislation pass this year. Ask them if they know where the Senator stands. If you want to have even MORE of an impact, please take a moment and call Senators who represent the areas listed below. We are hearing feedback from the Senators who support the legislation that your calls are being effective! But there are Senators still on the fence, who have not been receiving as many calls. If you or anyone you know, lives in one of these areas listed below, please call the Senator who represents that region! It is vital that the Senators in these regions, specifically, hear from the people over the next two weeks. - Northwestern Oakland County (Commerce Twp, Highland Twp, Holly Twp, Lyon Twp, Milford Twp, Northville, Novi, South Lyon, Walled Lake, West Bloomfield Twp, White Lake Twp and Wixom)
- Coloma, St. Joseph, Watervliet, Dowagiac, South Haven, Paw Paw
- Saginaw and Gratiot counties
- Saugatauck, Charlotte, Olivet
- St. Joseph, Branch, Hillsdale and Lenawee
- The Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island
- Macomb County
- Algonac, Lapeer, St. Clair Counties
- Detroit, Dearborn, River Rouge
- Traverse City
- Kent County
- Holland
- Lake Leelenau
- Midland, Alpena, Oscoda
- Northern Oakland County (Addison Twp, Auburn Hills, Independence Twp, Keego Harbor, Lake Angelus, Oakland Twp, Orion Twp, Oxford Twp, Pontiac, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Sylvan Lake and Clarkston)
- Ann Arbor
2. Follow up your phone call with a quick, personalized e-mail. Here is a link to a FACT PAGE about the legislation. Please use these facts to support your own personal story. Again, to have even a more effective impact, please send emails to the Senators in the regions above. Again, all emails are also listed here,
3. Please forward this e-mail to everyone you know who lives in Michigan, asking them to take action as well. They do not have to be personally affected by autism. There is strength in numbers. The stronger our voice, the more likely our success becomes.
Things could change by the minute and we will be sending out regular communications as we learn more over the coming days. Please stand ready to take action. We are in the closing miles of the marathon, heading up heartbreak hill. Now more than ever, we must put one foot in front of the other.
We will be asking you to take action frequently over the next few weeks. After five years, it has come down to the final few days. Please do not grow weary in the effort now! We have a great opportunity to pass meaningful autism insurance reform legislation this year. Thanks for doing all you can to help us cross the finish line.
For the sake of Michigan families and the fiscal well-being of the state, it is time for health insurance to cover autism treatment in Michigan. It's the right thing to do and now is the right time to do it. Let's make it happen this year! Thank you for your commitment and advocacy, AIM |
