Sign speech generating device (SGD) Dear Colleague Letter - coverage for people living with ALS!! Deadline Sept 10th! UPDATED RESULTS

as shared by ALSA Advocacy
UPDATED BELOW

Congressional Leadership has decided to extend the deadline for Members of Congress to join the speech generating device (SGD) Dear Colleague letter to CMS.  This means we still have time to let Members of Congress and their staff know we need their support to help preserve SGD coverage for people living with ALS!!  The new deadline is Wednesday, September 10, so if you have not sent a letter to your member you still have time. Please visit http://bit.ly/SGDletter. Please share this email with anyone you know who has participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and challenge them to further help people living with ALS! Thank you! ##### UPDATE 200 Members of Congress Sign SGD Letter!     Thank you to everyone who contacted their Members of Congress to urge them to sign onto the SGD Dear Colleague letter. You have made a huge difference! We are excited to tell you that 200 Senators and Representatives signed onto the letter! And at about 3pm today, it was sent to CMS Administrator Tavenner. Our goal is to ensure people with ALS have access to the SGDs they need and this letter is a significant step towards accomplishing that goal. It sends a powerful message to CMS that they cannot take these technologies away from people with ALS -- those who need it the most. The ALS Association applauds every Member of Congress who has joined this fight. We also want to especially thank Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and John Tierney (D-MA) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) who led the Dear Colleague letter and are championing our cause on Capitol Hill. If your Representative and Senators signed the SGD letter, please take a few minutes to thank them.  The names of those Members who signed the letter are here and a sample letter is available on our website. If you do not know the names of your Representative and Senators, you can identify them by entering your zip code on our website here. While this letter sends a powerful message to CMS, the fight is not over so please keep an eye out for additional action alerts and updates. In the meantime, thank you to everyone for reaching out to Congress. They heard you loud and clear!