Dear Colleagues in Faith, I am the Reverend Kathleen Peters, pastor of the United Church of Chester, United Church of Christ, and the mother of a 31 year old intellectually disabled young adult who lives at home with my husband and me. We and other families of disabled children with the Arc Connecticut have been fighting for just and fair treatment for our loved ones. Over the past thirty years there have been enormous cuts to the Department of Developmental Services, this year being the most profound and far reaching. For the first time, day program funding for 2016-2017 grads has been totally eliminated, vital Voluntary Services programs for Children and Adolescents has been cut 60% and residential/home supports have also been drastically cut. There will be no hope of any residential services until the death of both parents or other profound crisis. Please also urge members of your faith communities to speak out to your legislature about all cuts in services to our most vulnerable citizens. Not only is this a stressful personal situation for our family but it also one of great injustice. The care of our intellectually and developmentally disabled (I/DD) daughters and sons is what some of us have been calling a hidden and under-appreciated moral, social justice, and civil rights issue of our time. My husband and I and thousands of parents just like us cannot care for our children on our own. We need systems in place to ensure their care, especially after we are gone. Please feel free to contact me, Reverend Kathy Peters, at [email protected] /860-919-9030 or Shannon Jacovino Director of Advocacy & Public Policy The Arc Connecticut at [email protected] /860-246-6400. Sincerely, Reverend Kathy Peters

The current language in the law is old and outdated. If this bill passes it will remove the term 'Supervisory Physician' which prevents OB/GYNs from working with CNM's as they feel this term represents the fact they would be liable for the Midwife. This however is not true, but the Physician's Malpractice companies do not allow them to be associated with Midwives because of this term. If removed, it will allow for more Midwifery collaboration with Physicians and more access to midwives for women. At the moment Midwives have to have a Physician sign documents like rent agreements for the practice office and agreements with suppliers of equipment to run a practice, which is clearly discriminatory. Removing it will not change anything about collaboration and safety and I urge you to contact your own local representative as well. The Bill is due to be voted on tomorrow 4/28/2015 but please sign anytime. For more information go to: http://www.midwivespass1306.com/#!get-involved/c6kj

I suffer from seasonal depression. Stopping this would make my life so much easier to live.

In 2006, I started Kid's Count Pediatrics in Elkin, North Carolina. Because the patients we care for are the children of struggling families and chronically ill children, 85% of our practice is Medicaid compared to the National average of 22% for primary care providers. Because we do not turn away kids with Medicaid as their primary insurance, our practice makes 40-50% less than a traditional practice. The poor reimbursement rates plus the recent 20% pay cut (causing us to lose $3,000 a week in revenue since January 1st) leave us struggling to keep our doors open. If we close, where will these kids go? Kids don't choose their insurance, and all children deserve the same access to life saving treatments. Practices like Kid's Count Pediatrics offer a service to the community, but, by accepting government funded health insurance, we struggle to keep our doors open. Since the expiration of Medicaid Pay Parity on January 1st of 2015, our practice has so far lost $32,000. Please join us and the American Academy of Pediatrics in asking our government to reinstate Medicaid pay parity with back payment to January 1st so we can keep taking care of our kids.

Present rules prevent disabled people from seeing our doctors. We must tweak the rules!

Our organization works with families who are under stress and living in poverty. We strive to help them become the best parents they can be so the next generation can be contributing members of society. Unfortunately, positive parenting is difficult to embrace when basic needs aren't being met, many of which are mental health needs and/or untreated chronic physical illness. If these parents do receive treatment, it plunges them into inescapable debt, which perpetuates poverty and stress. Help has been offered as part of the Affordable Care Act. All we have to do is accept it.

As religious leaders and members of congregations in California we affirm our support for SB 277 which requires California's children to be vaccinated against communicable diseases. Our religious traditions teach us that the highest value is saving lives and we believe that the mandatory vaccination bill will do just that – save the lives of children and adults who otherwise might succumb to diseases that can easily be cured.

My 16 month old nephew just died, with inconsolable crying, siezures and fever after a vaccine. He was totally healthy before.

Florida needs to expand Medicaid, and the governor needs to stop being an obstacle to helping Florida's working poor.

Currently, recreation therapists are not being held accountable in the same way as other allied health and human services professionals in the State. There is no regulating entity to insure that properly prepared professionals are practicing in the State of New York.

Washington, DC and the Ward 1 community cannot afford to lose this key healthcare center for low-income families and refugees, especially with so little dental care in the community. 6,500 people stand to lose access to a comprehensive range of health services: medical, dental, and behavioral health care, plus patient navigation, health education, and many other services. Nearly 100 new patients join the medical and dental practices each month. There are so many great aspects of Community of Hope’s Marie Reed Health Center – including a strong partnership with the Marie Reed Elementary School and awards for ranking in the top 10% of health centers in the United States. It is not just a health center; it is a home.

Most of these patients and their families didn't choose to be under insured or to have life changing circumstances place them in such a financial position. During normal working hours, patients are still convalescing, recuperating, sleeping or medicated to a greater extent, and this will disrupt the quality of patient care. After the physical trauma patients have experienced comes the financial trauma, which is the last thing visiting family members want to witness, let alone be a part of or to be asked to be a guarantor for their relations. Send Paul Viviano a message - leave under insured patients alone during the hours when they are convalescing, recuperating, medicated or sleeping. Do you really want to be bothered with a UCSD Patient Access employee collecting a high dollar deductible from you while lying on a table in the middle of the ER after a drunk driver hit you or your loved one, since their employee can't cover a catastrophic health event?