The healing power of music Due to a lack of quorum we have been unable to hear bills on the House floor. At this point in the session we are typically hearing Senate Bills and making progress. But despite the delays, I have stayed busy at the Statehouse. Last year the Developmental Disabilities Committee passed a resolution that will create a summer study committee this summer to research the effectiveness of music therapy for those with disabilities. In light of that resolution, a Newburgh resident visited the Statehouse this week to help represent the Association for Indiana Music Therapists (AIMT). Casey DePriest, who serves as the AIMT's State Task Force Chair, visited with a number of other representatives from the AIMT on Wednesday to increase awareness about the Association and music therapy, as well as to promote access to the services that music therapists provide. The AIMT consists of music therapy students, educators and professionals to provide and encourage music therapy education and access across the state. I was able to meet with Casey while she was here and she said that in the last 10 years Indiana has experienced over 200 percent growth in both the number of counties that provide music therapy and the number of music therapists in the state. "Not only are we providing more jobs for Hoosiers," she said, "we are also lowering overall healthcare costs by providing more choices and cost-effective treatments." Music therapy is becoming a very widely accepted form of therapy across the state and across the nation. Indiana Medicaid provides some waivers and many private insurance companies now reimburse their members for music therapy services. Music therapy is even being used in Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' rehabilitation, as can be seen in the ABC News article "Music Therapy Helps Gabrielle Giffords Find Her Voice After Tucson Shooting," on their website: abcnews.go.com. Currently, however, Indiana Medicaid does not cover the service that Congresswoman Giffords used, and that is one of the reasons that Casey and the AIMT representatives were at the Statehouse trying to bring awareness to the issue. Finally, in January I sent out a survey about many of the issues we have discussed at the Statehouse during the 2011 legislative session. The results are in and have been posted on my website at www.in.gov/H78 if you are interested in seeing the opinions of other residents in District 78. I'm hoping that we will be able to get back to work soon and that our Democrat colleagues will be returning next week so that we can get back to doing the people's business. Thank you for the continued feedback that you have been sending me. As always, you can send me an e-mail at H78@in.gov or call me at 1-800-382-9841. -30- State Rep. Suzanne Crouch (R-Evansville) |
