Until a cure is found, the chapter and MS activists are currently pursuing:
- Health care reform
- Improved community resources
- Disability rights
- Long-term care resources
- Access to quality health care services
- Increased funding for MS research
- Accessible, affordable health insurance
Read more about
Health Care Reform Resources
- The National MS Society, Government Affairs and Advocacy/Update on Health Care Reform
- Insurance Provisions of the Affordable Care Act: An Implementation Timeline for California- California Healthcare Foundation
- The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation website on health care reform
- Healthcare.gov-a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board-Oversees the temporary federal high risk pool
Federal Issues
- In Washington, DC, we are working toward positive legislative change. Join MS action alerts.
- Read the National Health Care Reform Principles. These principles help guide our role in the national health care reform debate and determine the Society’s policy priorities.
- Read activism success stories.
- Read about hot federal issues.
State Issues
Our California advocacy priorities include:
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New patient protection through AB 310: Commercial health plans in California have introduced discriminatory “specialty tier” cost structures. Rather than paying a flat rate for medication, Californians with medications on specialty tiers – which include the most expensive medications – can pay coinsurance of up to 35% of the total cost of the medication. This bill would eliminate “specialty tier” pricing for medication, place a cap on patient co-pays, and limit the annual out-of-pocket expenditures for California patients. This is currently a two-year bill.
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Safe needle disposal: drug manufacturer responsibility through SB 419. This bill would require pharmaceutical manufacturers who sell medications that are routinely injected at home to submit electronic annual reports to the Department of Resource Recovery and Recycling (DRRR) describing how they support and provide safe sharps (e.g. syringes, pen needles) collection and disposal programs. The manufacturers would also be required to post the plans in a readily accessible location on their websites. This is currently a two-year bill.
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S.B. 489 is signed by the Governor!
This MS-CAN sponsored bill authored by Senator Joe Simitian (Dem- Palo Alto) requires that drug manufacturers who make injectible medications post on their web sites and submit plans to the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s successor agency, what actions they are taking, if any, on how they support and provide safe needle disposal programs for the patients who inject their drugs that are not covered under Medicare Part B.
Background: As of September 1, 2008, California state law makes it illegal to dispose of sharps waste in the trash or recycling containers. The new regulations require sharps waste to be stored in approved sharps containers and requires those sharps containers to be disposed of at an approved sharps collection point or hazardous waste site.
Sharps and Disposal
Sharps include lancets, hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpel blades and broken glass articles (other than household items). According to state law, an approved sharps container is rigid, leak-proof, puncture resistant, sealed and clearly marked with the bio-hazard symbol. For more information about Sharps disposal in your area visit the California Integrated Waste Management Board.
Local Issues
At the chapter we think that real people should have a real impact on reforming the system. Many of the local issues that we address come directly from individuals who contact the chapter about a problem affecting people with MS in their community. Some of these issues include public transportation, housing, emergency preparedness, and health care.
To learn more about current hot topics in advocacy or for more information, please contact Amanda.Lasik@nmss.org at 760-448-8404.