1. Hawaii: News Save The Date: Hawaii Covering Kids is sponsoring a community forum on 26 August 2010 from 10:00 am-1:00 pm in Honolulu titled "Health Care Reform Law: Great News for Children and Families!" Details and registration information will be available in late June. Please note: The community forum is part of an all-day meeting for outstationed eligibility workers. Since our state network partners may also be interested in learning about this new law from our guest speakers, the 10:00 am-1:00 pm session is also open to other participants. Mahalo plenty to Ron Nagasawa for featuring the Hawaii Covering Kids Facebook web site at the end of his "What's Next" column. On page two in the 04/28/10 MidWeek edition: Hawaii Covering Kids "was ahead of the health care curve by getting as many Hawaii keiki covered by health insurance as they could. Find valuable information for your family." 2. Utah: How Will the Health Care Reform Law Affect Children With Pre-Existing Conditions? Beginning in September, the new law is expected to stop health insurance companies from rejecting children or excluding coverage because of pre-existing medical problems. That's what happened to Diane Knight, 52, of Orem, Utah, when she tried to get health insurance for her 17-year-old daughter. Although Ms. Knight and her husband had family health insurance in the past, they lost it when they left their jobs to start a small business. When they discovered that they were unable to get new health insurance because both had a past cancer diagnosis, they sought an individual policy just for their daughter. But she was rejected, too, because she had used expensive prescription acne cream when she was younger and the insurance company did not want to pay for that in the future. "To deny a perfectly healthy 17-year-old girl, and then for the rest of her life she has to say, 'Yes I've been denied health insurance'--that's unacceptable," said Ms. Knight, who returned to teaching public school to obtain insurance for her family. “I'm a conservative Republican, but I have lived the nightmare of health insurance.” Since the law passed, health insurers have argued that it uses vague language and does not require them to provide health insurance to all children right away. Legislative experts say that the intent of Congress was clear and that the federal government will probably write the rules to reflect this, which may lead the industry to take the battle to court. [Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times, 04/11/10] 3. Texas: New Health Care Law a Godsend for Lawyer and Family Attorney Andrew Griffin doesn't share the outrage that many of his fellow Texans feel over the Obama administration's new health-care law. Instead, he thinks of his epileptic son Alec, 12, as almost a poster child for the new law and thinks that his family will benefit because it prohibits insurers from denying coverage of a pre-existing condition. Two years ago, Griffin, a new law school grad, discovered that he made too much money at the Fort Worth, Texas, law firm he'd just joined to qualify for his son's care under the Texas Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP.) Alec's seizures, which had begun in 2003 but all but disappeared, had become constant, but more than 60 insurers rejected Griffin's applications for coverage. Turning to his wife, he proposed that they divorce so she and their two children could qualify for federal assistance. "We'd do whatever it takes for him," said Griffin. His boss, J. Steven King, was horrified. "I said I would not let that happen," said King, who runs a family law practice in Fort Worth. He stepped in and proposed instead to cap Griffin's salary at $48,000, the limit for a family of four to quality for CHIP. "I felt horrible, like I was taking advantage of him," King said. Griffin had to make sure that he didn't have any assets--a leased car passed muster, but not one he owned, and a house had to be rented--but that way Alec could get the coverage and the surgery he needed. When the new law kicks in three months from now, however, Griffin looks forward to getting out from under CHIP--and nearly doubling his salary. The health-care law requires insurance companies to accept all applicants, regardless of pre-existing conditions, starting in 2014. Between now and then, the federal government will fund high-risk insurance pools in the states. "Health insurance reform is designed to prevent any child from being denied coverage because he or she has a pre-existing condition," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius before Congress approved it. For 12-year-old Alec Griffin, the new law and new coverage won't impact his care. But they'll have an impact on his family. "Under the restrictions, you can't accumulate wealth," said Andrew Griffin. With a guarantee of health insurance, the lawyer thinks that his family can start saving for a down payment for a home and ultimately provide Alec with "a better quality of life." According to his neurologist, Dr. Saleem Malik, Alec is "markedly improved" after surgery in January to control his seizures. "His seizures have always been difficult to control," said Malik, who spoke with McClatchy with the permission of the Griffin family. Instead of two to three weekly seizures, Malik said, they're now infrequent. Alec Griffin's epilepsy was triggered in 2003 by a viral infection that led to encephalitis, a swelling of the brain, Malik said. As the boy's seizures grew worse, starting in 2008, Malik recommended major surgery. The six-hour operation, a left anterior temporal lobectomy on the part of the brain that controls speech and memory, was performed by a team of 15 to 20 medical personnel at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. Alec's speech has improved, said Malik, who's been the child's physician since the boy was 6, and he hopes the youngster, who now studies at home, can return to school in a few months. As for future surgery, said Malik, "I hope this is it." The family, said the doctor, "has been through a lot." Andrew Griffin is upbeat these days--about Alec and about the Obama health-care plan, which, he jokes, makes him the only person in the Fort Worth area, including in his own family, who supports it. "I'm very optimistic," said Griffin. "This opens up avenues that were not available to me." [Maria Reico, McClatchy Newspapers, 04/25/10]