February 25, 2011
Our movement to get legislators to take action on issues that matter to Texans living with MS is in high gear in Austin!
- House Bills 1253 and 1405 by Representative John Smithee
- Senate Bill 547 by Senator Bob Deuell.
We are fortunate to be working with well-respected members of the Texas Legislature who are committed to addressing issues that affect people with MS.
CLICK HERE to track the bills' progress using our Lone Star Legislation Tracker!
Rep. Smithee is an attorney from Amarillo and has represented House District 86 (Dallam, Hartley, Oldham and Deaf Smith counties) since 1985. He is the long-time Chairman of the House Insurance Committee where we expect HB 1253 and HB 1405 to be referred for initial action in the House. We could not ask for a better, more respected sponsor in the House.
CALL TO ACTION! Does Rep. Smithee represent you in the Texas Legislature? Find out here! Passing legislation takes a lot of time and commitment from legislators and their staff. Please send Chairman Smithee an email today and thank him for his leadership and his commitment to Texans living with MS. john.smithee@house.state.tx.us
We are in just as strong of a position in the Senate. A family physician from Greenville, Sen. Deuell was elected in 2003 to serve Senate District 2 (Delta, Hopkins, Hunt, Rockwall, Kaufman, Fannin, Rains, and Van Zandt counties, and parts of Dallas and Smith counties.) He is the Vice-Chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee where SB 547 was referred on February 17th. Sen. Deuell and your Society advocacy team are already hard at work to secure a public hearing for SB 547.
CALL TO ACTION! Does Sen. Deuell represent you in the Texas Legislature? Let him know how much you appreciate his efforts by emailing him at bob.deuell@senate.state.tx.us
As activists, we are committed to improving private health coverage in Texas. Our bills—HB 1253, HB1405 and SB 547—will extend important protections already in law for enrollees in large health plans that prevent unexpected changes to prescription drug coverage during a contract year to small employer and individual plans and would require new notifications for all enrollees of prescription drug benefits 60 days prior to contract renewal. Click here for additional information and to follow the status of these bills.
Want to join our movement at the Texas Capitol?
Contact your Government Affairs Coordinator, Linnea Nasman, at (512) 340-2711 or at linnea.nasman@nmss.org