Today, we made history in the lymphedema world – the LymphedemaTreatment Act was passed in the House of Representatives!
We are now one giant leap closer to passing this bill into law and making sure patients have insurance coverage for their vital compression supplies.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to the many people who have given their time, their talents, and their passion to this cause:
- To the 21 incredible individuals who make up the Lymphedema Advocacy Group, all of whom are unpaid volunteers and who have become like family.
- To the late Elaine Eigeman, our Board Chair from 2014 until her passing in April of this year, who literally spent her final days doing everything she could to further our efforts – I know you are smiling right now, Elaine.
- To our over 1,500 State Team members in all 50 states, who have played a pivotal role in securing cosponsors not only from every state, but in many cases from every member of the House and Senate in their state.
- And to you – the over 10,000 advocates receiving this newsletter, who have headed our calls to action and tirelessly reached out to their members of Congress, making the Lymphedema Treatment Act the most supported healthcare bill in Congress for two consecutive sessions!
Your voice matters, your voice is being heard, and you made this happen! Not only did the House choose to include our bill is this package, but they also waived a hearing for the LTA due to it’s overwhelming amount of bipartisan support.
Enjoy this victory, because you earned it! But tomorrow our work continues. We will need your advocacy more than ever to get our bill through the Senate, and we’ll be in touch again soon with the information you need to take action. Note that although H.R.3 as-is is not expected to be taken up in the Senate, there may be a compromise drug pricing bill that combines provisions from both chambers, or the Senate can put the LTA into another Senate package. In short, all options are on the table in terms of our path through the Senate.
Together, we will pass the Lymphedema Treatment Act!
Heather Ferguson
Founder & Executive Director
Lymphedema Advocacy Group
LymphedemaTreatmentAct.org
“I have seen Lymphedema in a close friend of mine, so I know that it can be a painful and costly condition to treat and manage. Nearly all of my colleagues in the House have cosponsored the Lymphedema Treatment Act and I look forward to finally passing this critical legislation.”
