[Timothy's Team] Timothy's Team Update - All Hands On Deck for Timothy's Law!

Wed Dec 20 11:55:44 EST 2006

We have heard that the Governor has not made his decision yet but is paying
attention to all of this campaign's efforts.  So let's help Governor Pataki
make the right decision to SIGN TIMOTHY'S LAW TODAY.

CALL, FAX, EMAIL!  (scroll down for info.)
STOP BY THE CAPITOL TODAY, TOMORROW AND FRIDAY!

The vigil at the Capitol today starts today at 2:00 outside room 123 of the
Capitol
Thursday: 3:30 - 7:00, outside the Governor's office, 2nd floor of the
Capitol
Friday: 3:30 - 6:00, outside the Governor's office, 2nd floor of the Capitol

 FIND THE GOVERNOR!   
Below is the Governor's schedule for today --  
 if you will be in the area please show up with a sign asking him to sign
Timothy's Law.  
Note: the Governor will be at the Empire State Plaza at 6:15  

 PATAKI SCHEDULE: At 11 a.m. Gov. George Pataki is traveling upstate today.

11 a.m. -- He is joined by State and local officials to make an energy
announcement; Huntley Generating Facility, River Road, Tonawanda. Directions
to 11 Event: 90 West to Exit 50 (just after the Toll Booths); Route 290
(West for approximately 10 miles); 190 South (left hand lane); take first
exit as you are getting on 190 (Kenmore Ave - Sheridan Drive), you will see
the large stacks directly in front of you; go straight through the signal
off the exit Sawyer Ave; en of Sawyer Ave is River Rd; left on River Rd,
first driveway on the right.

2 p.m. -- Makes announcement regarding renewable fuel production; Rochester
Commercialization and Development Center, Genencor Manufacturing Plant, 1700
Lexington Avenue, Rochester.

4 p.m. -- Makes announcement regarding renewable fuel production; SUNY
College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Brey Hall Rotunda, 1 Forestry
Drive, Syracuse.

6:15 p.m. -- Makes announcement regarding high efficient vehicle for State
fleet; Empire State Plaza (outside), Albany.

 Call the Governor (if you already called, call again and every day until
the bill is signed) 

Here's the number to call: 518-474-1041

  Also, you can email and fax letters to the Governor: 

*	

	Emailing: Go to  <BLOCKED::http://www.timothyslaw.org/>
www.timothyslaw.org, click on the "Get Involved" tab and follow the
instructions from there
*	Faxing: 518-474-8099

(Letters should be addressed to Governor George E. Pataki, State Capitol,
Albany, NY 12224)

IN THE NEWS:

Mentally ill catch a break

Pataki should sign bill providing parity in health insurance coverage
Buffalo News Editorial             December 20, 2006

In a recent do-nothing legislative session, the Assembly did something right
by approving Timothy's Law for parity-based mental health and chemical
dependency insurance. 

Now, outgoing Gov. George E. Pataki must act quickly and sign it into law. 

Previous and more comprehensive versions of the legislation had passed the
Assembly, though the latest incarnation had yet to gain approval. With
compromises woven in, the Senate passed Timothy's Law in September, the
first time they had passed the bill. And so did the Assembly. 

The law creates a mental-health benefits structure composed of two mandates
for large employers and a subsidized mandate paired with a "subscriber
option" for the same coverage for groups with 50 or fewer employees. 

All employers that offer health insurance and are not exempt under federal
or state law will have to provide broad-based mental-health coverage
including at least 20 outpatient days and 30 inpatient days, with
co-payments and deductibles comparable to those used for physical ailments.
This represents the financial parity that so many had been without. 

Exclusions are virtually nonexistent and there are significant provisions
for the care of children. 

If a lame-duck governor chooses within the next few days to sign this piece
of legislation, New York will be able to remove itself as one of the few
states that does not mandate mental-health insurance parity. 

Many states have amended, strengthened and improved upon mental-health
parity legislation, rather than rolling back progress on such vital
protections. Fears about cost increases for businesses have been unfounded,
according to experts. Of course, there's always going to be someone
available to dispute anecdotal evidence. 

This legislation is pro-family, a point an ambitious governor considering a
run for president should consider. Pataki should attach his signature to
Timothy's Law as one of his final and most conscientious actions as
governor. 

Pataki must OK Timothy's Law 

Poughkeepsie Journal             December 19, 2006

Treating mental illnesses the same as physical ailments when it comes to
insurance coverage in New York is long overdue. The state Assembly last week
finally approved a compromise bill that brings parity to how mental health
issues are treated by insurers. Now Gov. George Pataki needs to sign this
vital legislation and ensure those already suffering don't have their
problems compounded by struggling to get adequate coverage.

The bill, known as Timothy's Law, requires insurance coverage for mental
illness and other health problems be on par with each other. Private
insurance policies in New York limit coverage provided for mental health and
substance abuse services or require additional co-payments from the insured.
Concerns the law could place an undue burden on small business owners have
been addressed, in a compromise the Assembly and Senate reached in June. The
Senate approved the bill at a special session in September. Lawmakers agreed
on protections for companies with fewer than 50 employees by having the
state absorb any increases in premiums. 

Many supporters of the plan expect the cost of providing expanded coverage
will be more than offset by savings from a reduction in lost productivity
and expensive crisis care. 

The bill requires companies offering health insurance to include 30 patient
visits and 20 outpatient visits for mental health care. Co-payments must be
comparable with the rest of the plan. Currently, some mental health care
includes a co-pay of more than $50 each visit, while traditional physician
co-pays run about $15 a visit.

Additionally, companies with more than 50 workers would cover necessary
treatment of major disorders - illnesses such as major depression and panic
disorders, among others - above and beyond the 30 patient and 20 outpatient
visits. Small businesses would have the option of purchasing this additional
coverage.

The law is set to expire three years after it's enacted and requires a cost
analysis by the state Insurance Department.

The bill gets its name from Timothy O'Clair of Schenectady, who hanged
himself at age 12 after suffering for years from mental illness. His parents
struggled to find the proper treatment and services for their son. They even
took the difficult step of relinquishing custody to get their son's
treatment paid for by Medicaid, unable to afford the costly care on their
own.

Like many important issues in Albany, this one has taken a long time to
bring to fruition. A Pataki veto could delay this needed change
indefinitely. Having the entire Legislature up for election this year no
doubt had a role in the compromise being reached. And there's no guarantee
lawmakers would quickly approve the bill again next year, with just about
everything subject to the horse-trading that takes place in Albany.

Pataki needs to sign this crucial law immediately and help those burdened by
mental illness get the treatment they need and deserve.

Pataki bumps to the finish

Special legislative session he called produces nothing but Timothy's Law

Newsday Editorial                    December 19, 2006

After a couple of years of incremental improvement, Albany recently reminded
its critics how the state's legislative process earned its distinction as
the nation's most dysfunctional. Last week's special session accomplished
little beyond restoring an unhealthy measure of public cynicism. 

What a fitting end to the era of Gov. George Pataki. The only thing
consistent about his 12-year tenure, which comes to a close New Year's Eve,
was its inconsistency of energy, vision and, ultimately, accomplishment.
Like the special session, Pataki got some things right, some wrong and left
too much undone, because he either didn't work hard enough or misjudged the
opposition in both parties. 

Last week, Pataki threw too much at lawmakers, seeking to burnish his
legacy, and misread what he could get from them by dangling a pay raise,
which the legislature sidestepped.

Lawmakers did get one thing right. The Assembly, following up on a vote by
the Senate, approved a landmark bill to require insurers to cover mental
illnesses at the same level as other medical maladies. Called Timothy's Law,
for an adolescent who killed himself after his family was unable to pay for
health care for his mental problems, it would end discrimination in medical
coverage that denies thousands of people adequate care.

The mental-health parity bill represents a broad political and ideological
compromise. Parity with other coverage, which many states require, has had
little impact on insurance premiums, but it benefits business and government
by cutting absenteeism and keeping people off public assistance. Pataki
should sign it.

It's too bad, however, that Pataki won't be able to authorize creation of
more charter schools. Assembly Democrats wrongheadedly blocked that. But
it's good the Assembly wouldn't authorize civil confinement for sexual
predators after they serve a prison sentence. Society must come to grips
with the threat of repeat offenders, but the issues are complex and the
proposal approved by Republicans needs a lot of work.

Not a total waste ...

Middletown Times Herald Record Editorial                  December 19, 2006

            OK, we got that rant out about the three-men-in-a room
government, and it is sincere, but legislators did manage one positive
accomplishment last week. The Assembly approved a bill that would require
insurance companies to provide coverage for a range of mental illnesses,
notably those related to children, on par with other health-care coverage.
It is a long-overdue step forward in health care in the state. The Senate
has already passed the bill and Gov. Pataki has until Dec. 26 to sign it. He
should do so now.

The bill is called Timothy's Law. It is named after Timothy O'Clair, the
12-year-old from Schenectady who committed suicide in 2001 after his parents
had surrendered custody of him because their health insurance would not
cover treatment for his depression and they could not afford it. His father
has lobbied for the bill since then.

The arguments for it are simple. Mental illnesses can be just as
debilitating as physical illnesses and are responsible for the loss of
billions of dollars in worker productivity. Moreover, most of the illnesses
are diagnosable and treatable, with many of them having a biological cause.
Good health must include mental health.

The argument against the parity bill is the usual one - cost, especially to
employers. But in 35 states that have passed similar laws, there has been
only a slight increase (1 percent in California) in premiums. Federal
workers also receive such coverage. New York has been negligent on this for
far too long.

Sign Timothy's Law 
Pataki must sign bill that can ensure medical coverage of mental disorders. 
Elmira Star-Gazette Editorial                December 17, 2006

Wednesday's one-day, special legislative session was a bust. With one
important exception.

While a civil confinement bill died of neglect, another important bill lived
and now sits on Gov. George Pataki's desk awaiting his signature. There's
every reason for the governor to sign off on the bill, the so-called
Timothy's Law.

The Assembly approved the bill last Wednesday in what was the only show of
productivity to come out of the legislative meeting. It wasn't what Pataki
wanted when he called legislators back to Albany, yet the measure was an
important byproduct of an otherwise unimpressive session.

The governor had sought a new civil confinement law to keep sex offenders in
state mental facilities for further treatment after their prison sentences
had expired. He had intense interest in the bill because the state's highest
court had overturned his executive order to confine a number of sex
offenders after their sentences were up. But the governor lost that round
when the Assembly and Senate could not reach a compromise on civil
confinement.

He must not let that disappointment sink Timothy's Law. Named for Timothy
O'Clair, a 12-year-old Schenectady child who killed himself in 2001, the law
would require insurance companies to cover inpatient and outpatient
treatment for various mental illnesses not currently covered, including
eating disorders.

The extra cost, estimated to be from 3 percent to as much as 10 percent,
would be passed on to employers and their workers, The Associated Press has
reported. The state, however, would pick up the extra expense for small
companies of 50 employees or fewer.

If the governor has concerns about the controversy that surrounded the law
when it was introduced, he need now only look at the votes -- 55-0 in the
Senate during a special session in September and 139-0 in the Assembly last
week -- to be assured that legislators believe in this bill.

And if he has any residual ire at the Assembly for blocking the civil
confinement bill, he also should set that aside. Timothy's Law offers too
much good for those with mental disorders to become a victim of politics.

As he leaves office this year, the governor should act with compassion and
sign this bill for the good of the state.

Sooner law takes effect, the better 

Troy Record Editorial               December 16, 2006

The Legislature accomplished at least one worthwhile thing in its special
session this week: the Assembly unanimously passed "Timothy's Law," which
would expand the availability of coverage for the treatment of mental
illness. 

The Senate passed the bill earlier this fall. Now it's up to Gov. Pataki to
sign the bill into law. 

Area lawmaker Paul Tonko was the main sponsor of the Assembly bill; the boy
for whom it is named lived in his district in Rotterdam.

The story is heartbreaking, but it served to put a name and face to a
problem that only legislation could address.

Timothy O'Clair's parents first sought mental health treatment for their
young son, quickly using up their insurance policy's allotted visits and
then paying out of pocket to the extent they could afford. "Eventually,"
explains a Web site set up to promote the law, "the O'Clairs had to
relinquish custody of Timothy to gain access to hospitalization." 

In March 2001, the boy committed suicide at age 12.

"If Timothy had diabetes or cancer, our health insurance would have provided
unlimited coverage," his parents wrote. "We are confident that had Timothy
received the services he needed, he would be here with us now."

Legislators have been trying to get Timothy's Law passed for four years.

The law addresses coverage for both adults and children, and it brings New
York in line with 35 other states.

The most important part of the legislation is that it brings co-pays for
mental health services down to the same rate as other medical services,
rather than $50 or more per visit. It also requires health insurance
policies sold in New York to provide at least 30 inpatient days and 20
outpatient visits for mental health treatment, according to the organization
Families Together in New York State. 

Timothy's Law is a trial of sorts, because it expired three years from its
enactment. The law requires that the state Insurance Department conduct a
cost analysis of the legislation, so that financial ramifications can be
reviewed and taken into account before its expiration.

For now, the sooner it takes effect, the better. 

For more information, go to the Timothy's Law Campaign at
www.timothyslaw.org or call 432-0333.

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