I got an e-mail from Friends of Mark Warner today, touting an op-ed piece that he wrote about legislation he introduced to support families like his who are caring for a parent facing Alzheimers.
"That's why I have introduced the Senior Navigation and Planning Act of 2009 (S.1263). At its heart, this bill helps Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to plan for their transition into senior life in non-crisis moments. Essentially, we are trying to help seniors, their families, and caregivers navigate through a complex health care system."
The op-ed is really well written and it is clear that families caring for the elders with Alzheimers are facing many of the same issues that families with autism deal with - the help navigating the healthcare system, adequate coverage and care, respite, and care training. This is a worthy bill and I support it 100%.
My frustration is this - I have called his office twice about the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act and its need of co-sponsors. The interns/staffers who have answered have seemed uninterested at best. I sent a more lengthy request through his website over a month ago (my memory), asking him to please sponsor the ATAA and to give me a response. I have yet to hear from his office. To my knowledge, he also has not signed on to sponsor the ATAA.
I hope in the fullness of time he will reconsider and support the ATAA with same enthusiasm that he is supporting S. 1263. Granted, Alzheimers has touched his family more closely, but with 1 in 150 children diagnosed with autism, I doubt Mark Warner (or Jim Webb or Frank Wolf) would have to look very far in his circle of family or friends to find someone whose life has been touched by autism.
1 comment:
I would not count on anything positive happening because of Mark Warner. The most horrendous, chaotic, and detrimental damage done to the DD waiver system happened while he was governor of Virginia (2002-2006) The waiting list for DD services grew from hundreds to thousands during his tenure as governor. My family has been waiting for DD services since Mark Warner was governor.
Why would it be rational to believe that he could help the citizens of the Commonwealth more as a Federal Senator then he could as the state’s political leader?
To be realistic, don’t expect anything positive out of his political agenda on the hill.
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