Bill Text: NJ SCR106 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges President and Congress to enact legislation that supports alopecia areata patients and promotes alopecia arceata research.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-16 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [SCR106 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-SCR106-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Urges President and Congress to enact legislation that supports alopecia areata patients and promotes alopecia areata research.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the President of the United States and Congress to enact legislation that supports alopecia areata patients and promotes alopecia areata research.
Whereas, Alopecia areata is an autoimmune skin disease that results in hair loss when the patient's immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles; and
Whereas, This skin disease is highly unpredictable and cyclical, as the damage to the follicle is usually not permanent and hair can grow back in or fall out again at any time; and
Whereas, Alopecia areata can result in small, round, and smooth patches of hair loss on the head as well as total scalp hair loss or total body hair loss; and
Whereas, Alopecia areata affects approximately two percent of the United States population and is most common among people younger than 20 years of age, but can affect all ages, all ethnicities, and both sexes; and
Whereas, While alopecia areata is not physically painful or life threatening, the disease can cause a great deal of emotional pain as those who are affected suffer from the psychological stress of changes in self-image due to hair loss; and
Whereas, Coverage of expensive cranial prosthetics is not consistently provided by health insurance carriers and Medicaid, yet these wigs can play an essential role in an alopecia areata patient's ability to cope with the anxiety and depression often associated with this disease; and
Whereas, Accessing medical assistance for alopecia areata patients is also problematic because, while scientists suspect that a combination of genes may predispose some people to the disease, medical research has yet to identify the specific trigger that causes those genes to attack the patient's hair follicles; and
Whereas, There is currently no cure for the disease or United States Food and Drug Administration approved drug to treat hair loss caused by the disease, and
Whereas, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports research projects that form the foundation for treatment development of many diseases and has contributed to an emerging alopecia areata research portfolio, yet the NIH is currently limited in providing grant money to the medical community due to the stagnation of federal funds; and
Whereas,
It is appropriate that the President of the United States and Congress address
these issues to improve the quality of life for Americans living with alopecia
areata and enact federal legislation which mandates health insurance carriers
and Medicaid provide coverage for cranial prosthetics and increases federal
funding to the NIH; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):
1. This Legislature respectfully urges the President of the United States and Congress to enact legislation that supports alopecia areata patients and promotes alopecia areata research in order to improve the lives of those suffering from this autoimmune skin disease.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each of the members of Congress elected from the State of New Jersey, and the President of the United States.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution respectfully urges the President of the United States and Congress to enact legislation that supports alopecia areata patients and promotes alopecia areata research. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune skin disease that results in hair loss when the patient's immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles. Hair loss is typically isolated to small, round, smooth patches, but can also encompass the entire scalp or even the entire body. Alopecia areata affects approximately two percent of the United States population and is most common among people younger than 20 years of age. It can, however, affect all ages, all ethnicities, and both sexes.
While alopecia areata is not physically painful or life threatening, the disease can cause a great deal of emotional pain. Changes in self-image due to hair loss can lead to anxiety and depression. Alopecia areata patients can cope with these challenges by using cranial prosthetics, or wigs. Cranial prosthetics, however, are expensive and coverage is not consistently provided by health insurance carriers and Medicaid.
Another struggle for alopecia areata patients is their access to medical assistance. While scientists suspect that a combination of genes may predispose some people to alopecia areata, medical research has yet to identify the specific trigger that causes those genes to attack the patient's hair follicles. As a result, there is currently no cure for the disease or United States Food and Drug Administration approved drug to treat hair loss caused by the disease. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has supported alopecia areata research by contributing to an emerging research portfolio on the disease, yet the NIH is currently limited in providing grant money to the medical community due to the stagnation of federal funds appropriated to the NIH.
The President of the United States and Congress are respectfully urged to take action to address these issues. First, federal legislation mandating health insurance carriers and Medicaid provide coverage for cranial prosthetics is necessary to provide alopecia areata patients the support to manage some of the emotional challenges associated with the disease. Second, increasing federal funding to the NIH will encourage medical research and the possible development of innovative treatment options for alopecia areata. These significant legislative steps will greatly improve the quality of life for individuals living with alopecia areata.
