With more than 40 million Americans living with migraine and other headache disorders, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on Sept. 19 proposed a bipartisan bill that would establish the first-ever federal initiative to address the issue.
“Headache and migraine disorders affect tens of millions of Americans but are still treated as invisible illnesses in our public health system,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said. “Throughout my time in Congress, I’ve worked to give a voice to communities whose conditions are overlooked or misunderstood.”
The congressman cosponsored the Headache Education, Access, Diagnosis, and Care Health Equity (HEADACHE) Act, H.R. 5536, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) to direct the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a National Headache Disorders Initiative, and to establish an Advisory Council on Headache Disorders Research, Care, and Services, according to the bill’s text.
“The HEADACHE Act creates the first federal initiative for headache disorders — driving research, expanding access, and dismantling inequities so patients finally receive the priority and care they deserve,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick.
If enacted, H.R. 5536 would coordinate federal efforts, expand research, improve access to care, and tackle systemic inequities to meet the scale of the issue, the lawmakers said.
“Headache disorders are among the most common and debilitating health conditions people face, yet they’ve been overlooked for far too long in our nation’s public health priorities,” said Rep. Trahan. “The HEADACHE Act will finally change that by launching a coordinated federal initiative.”
H.R. 5536 is supported by numerous advocacy groups, including the American Academy of Neurology, the American Migraine Foundation, the Coalition of Headache and Migraine Patients, the Facial Pain Association, and the U.S. Pain Foundation, among others.