Action Alert: April 1, 2011
Thanks for taking action! HB 1405 successfully passed the House. Keep your eye out for more Action Alerts!
Ask your State Representative to Vote Yes on HB 1405!
HB 1405 IS SCHEDULED FOR A VOTE IN THE TEXAS HOUSE NEXT WEEK. This bill:
- Maintains prescription drug coverage for the life of an enrollee’s annual health insurance contract.
- Extends protections already in place for large group plans to enrollees employed by small business and to those covered by individual plans.
- Prevents unexpected increases in the cost of any prescription drug until the plan renewal date.
HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- Join other MS Activists at the Capitol on Tuesday, April 5th. Help rally support for HB 1405!
- Meet in the Capitol Rotunda on the First Floor of the Texas Capitol in Austin at 8:00 am. We will be speaking with and sharing information with legislators as they arrive to the Texas House of Representatives
- If you can attend, please let us know! Email Linnea.Nasman@nmss.org to RSVP. If you have questions, email Linnea or call (512) 340-2711.
IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT TO AUSTIN:
Please send your State Representative an email or call their office no later than the end of the day on Monday, April 4th. If your State Representative is not available, it is just as powerful to contact the staffer that is working on HB 1405. Let them know how important this bill is to people with MS!
Send an email to your Representative by clicking here.
If you’d prefer to make a phone call, click here to find out who your State Representative is and their phone number. Use the talking points below when you call their office.
The Ask: Please support HB 1405 by Representative Smithee and support fairness in insurance contracts and maintain prescription drug coverage for the entire length of an enrollee’s contract.
Talking Points:
- Families affected by MS carefully budget for their out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. Your support for HB 1405 will protect Texas families from unexpected changes in our coverage during the contract period.
- For Texans living with a chronic illness any unexpected increase—especially for prescriptions that already cost hundreds of dollars a month—can be difficult to absorb often leaving no option but to stop essential treatment.
- The House Insurance Committee unanimously passed HB 1405 with a 9-0 vote. The bill has no fiscal note.
- HB 1405 will be up for a vote on the House floor on Tuesday, April 5.