Parkinson's Action Network

Fri 1/29/2010 3:22 PM

As you know, there is a lot of debate right now on the direction that national health care reform will go and, quite frankly, it still appears to be quite uncertain. That said we see an opportunity, with the apparent delay of a massive health insurance reform, for the patient community to make their voices heard on some of the specific provisions addressed in the Senate and House bills that are crucial to us. The provisions of interest to those with Parkinson’s disease that, as of today, we see a collective interest in addressing include:

1) guaranteeing health care coverage regardless of preexisting conditions;
2) eliminating lifetime and annual caps on health insurance benefits;
3) eliminating therapy caps in Medicare;
4) eliminating the Medicare prescription coverage doughnut hole; and
5) creating a new Cures Acceleration Network at the National Institutes of Health to more swiftly move research from the lab into promising new drugs and therapies.

Regardless of what form health care reform takes in the legislative process, PAN will continue to advocate for these and other provisions that affect the quality of life for those living with Parkinson’s and their families. Stay tuned for updates on these issues as they move forward.

Please feel free to contact me (jsheridan@parkinsonsaction.org) or John Schall (jschall@parkinsonsaction.org) with any questions.