Thursday - July 28, 2022: The U.S. House of Representatives introduced the first ever legislation solely devoted to ending Parkinson's disease. This is a historic moment for the Parkinson's community!
The National Plan to End Parkinson's Act will, for the first time, unite the federal government and private enterprise in a mission to prevent and cure Parkinson's, alleviate financial and health burdens on American families, and ensure those living with the disease have access to the care they need. This bipartisan legislation is led by Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). The Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Parkinson's community are thankful for their leadership.
So, now what?
This bill will go through the traditional congressional process and will need to be voted on by the House. To make this happen, your Representative from Alabama in the U.S. House needs to hear from you. Please send an email asking them to show their support for this bill by becoming a co-sponsor. It's easy and only takes about 90 seconds.
To send an email, go to: https://www.michaeljfox.org/advocacy-campaign/urge-congress-support-national-plan-end-parkinsons and complete the form where you will find a pre-written email that you can send to your lawmakers. All you do is sign-in with your email address and your physical address, then an email will automatically be generated with the information needed to send to your exact representative.
Why a national plan and why now?
Parkinson's is a disease that requires a national effort to cure and prevent. Parkinson's costs the U.S. $52 billion every year, half of which is shouldered by the federal government, and that annual cost is expected to grow to $80 million by the year 2037. A national plan to end Parkinson's has the potential to:
Dramatically increase federal research funding
Develop more effective pathways for treatments and cures
Improve early diagnosis
Spark new and improved models for patient care
Create standards and measures to prevent Parkinson's disease
Address health disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and clinical trial participation, and
Enhance public awareness of the disease
The public-private advisory council created as part of this legislation will report every year to Congress on their progress and impact in ending Parkinson's. This is the kind of forward-looking strategy and responsible accountability the Parkinson's community needs and deserves.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation will provide updates as the legislation advances through Congress, so stay tuned. The Parkinson Association of Alabama will provide those updates as received as well.
About the Michael J. Fox for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) Foundation
As the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding $1.5 billion in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson's research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; creates a robust open-access data set and biosample library to speed scientific breakthroughs and treatment with its landmark clinical study, PPMI; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson's awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world.