Please pass this on to any of your friends on the Spectrum or their family members in the NYC area.
There are still opportunites to RSVP to attend this meeting and be heard by the new administration.
This discussion on health care policy is devoted to AS issues and will be reviewed by Senator Daschle, the point person for the Obama team on health care. Outside of the box perspectives on health care policy as it pertains to AS will be encouraged.
Refreshments will be served.
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Health Care Community Discussion for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum and their Families
Where: 800 Victory Boulevard, Apt. 3X, Staten Island, NY
When: Saturday, December 27, 2008, 3:00-5:00 pm
To RSVP: Contact Doug Hanway at 347-545-1492 ASAP. Capacity is limited to 15 attendees. Must RSVP to attend.
Questions? Contact Doug Hanway. If you have transportation needs or advice,
please do not hesitate to call me.
Members of the Autism Spectrum (AS) community and their families have complex health care wants and demands. President-elect Obama has pledged to consider innovative and flexible solutions to adapt to challenges faced by all Americans. To help shape new policy directives, the Obama Presidential Transition Team wants to hear from all of us.
The President-elect believes that every American should have high quality and affordable health care, and to reach this goal, we must modernize our health care system in order to:
• Improve health care quality and cut costs;
• Expand coverage and access; and
• Increase the emphasis on primary care and prevention.
To help guide the President-elect in establishing health care policies that will better serve the AS community, this meeting will emphasize the following discussion topics in addition to discussion about health care in general:
• What kinds of scientific research would best serve the AS community?
• Social models compared to medical models of care
• Health Insurance issues and AS
As we work to revamp our health care system, we need to hear from you. There is no problem that we cannot solve together—and it is out of our collective wisdom and experience that we will identify potential solutions to the many health care challenges that we face. We need to hear your ideas and your stories so that we can report them to the President-elect and guide our collective effort to reform the U.S. health system. The Presidential Transition Health Policy Team is encouraging Americans to host and attend Health Care Community Discussions across the country between December 15 and
December 31. These Community Discussions are part of the President-elect’s continuing efforts to reach out and directly involve the American people in their own government.
Health care is a top priority for President-elect Obama, and he wants your help in designing a system that provides quality, affordable health care for all Americans. His nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Daschle, is attending several Health Care Community Discussions. He and his Team will review the submissions from all of these gatherings. President-elect Obama wants to bring the voices and health care concerns of all Americans to Washington. On his behalf, I would like to invite you to help make this happen by participating in this Discussion.
Everyone should conduct the meeting like President-elect Obama would: respecting everyone, listening to everyone’s opinion, and engaging in vigorous debate and spirited discussion without being disagreeable. These meetings are not occasions for “experts” to listen to “everyday people” and then decide what is best. They are an opportunity for attendees to come together to diagnose the health care problems facing their community and propose solutions. Each attendee’s views matter – whatever their background, beliefs, or previous political involvement. Even when there is disagreement, we strive to find common ground.
Three primary goals of the Health Care Community Discussion are: 1) To discuss health care reform and draft a submission to the Transition Health Policy Team; 2) To use a process to do this that respects and empowers attendees; and 3) To identify stories that exemplify the need for health care reform.
Health Care Community Discussion:
Agenda
1. Welcome and Introductions of Attendees
2. Goals of the Health Care Community Discussion
3. Procedures for the Meeting
4. Discussion Questions
5. Participant Survey
6. Drafting of Group Submission for Transition Health
Policy Team
7. Group Photo or Video (If Possible)
8. Wrap Up and Thank You
24 Dec 2008, 3:26 am
