HFA's 2010 State Legislative Agenda

HFA is proud to release its 2010 State Legislative Agenda. This list has been compiled after consultation with members of the Federation’s Advocacy and Executive Committees. Our intention is to create a central clearinghouse for legislative proposals which we believe are of interest to segments of the bleeding disorders community.
The policy clearinghouse features a link to the proposal or bill. Often times these are measures which have either been proposed or passed in other places. All bills listed identify the source and sponsor of the original bill by its original bill number. The whole legislative text is provided as it is often helpful legislative counsel and bill drafters in composing legislation for your individual state or community. In addition, all proposals come with a plain text summary addressing the scope of the proposed measure.
The Office of Public Policy has identified two policy proposals which we believe are in fact so important that we’d encourage every chapter to consider supporting a version in your own state. The First is Standards legislation. The model provided is the Pennsylvania Treatment Standards Act. This measure addresses both standards of care and standards of service. The second is Tier IV Pricing.  The model provided is a measure from New York which addresses rising co-payments. The measure attempts to restrict the increases by precluding health insurance policies that include a tier-IV pricing model for prescription drugs.
More information on these specific proposals is available at the clearinghouse: https://hemophiliafed.org/advocacy/issues-and-positions/2010-state-legislative-agenda/.  These measures will not be impacted by the pending Federal Healthcare reform effort in D.C. and address areas of acute need across our community.
In pulling all of these bills and proposals into one location, we hope to give member organizations tools to begin consultations both within the bleeding disorders community and with lawmakers and opinion leaders in your home communities. Ideally these internal and external consultations will inform your organization’s ultimate public policy and advocacy successes.  Please remember that these bills listed in the State Legislative Clearinghouse are meant to be a reference and are not necessarily tailored to your community as is. They may (and likely will) need to be drafted with an eye towards legislative language and customs for your state.
The Hemophilia Federation of America’s Office of Public Policy stands ready to support community and chapter advocacy efforts. As questions, comments or concerns arise we are available as a resource to serve you as opportunities present.
Note: If you have a topic you would like us to research or have researched yourself and would like to be added to this clearinghouse, please contact policy@hemophiliafed.org to discuss.  We encourage and welcome that you do so. Please get involved!