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More than 40 million Americans live with migraine, yet headache disorders remain underdiagnosed, undertreated and underfunded.
Despite their widespread impact, the federal response has not always reflected the significant medical, societal and economic burden these conditions place on patients. A bipartisan bill in Congress seeks to change that.
Migraine and headache disorders affect more than 40 million Americans each year and can be highly disabling. Yet many people remain underdiagnosed and undertreated, in part because of a national shortage of headache specialists — physicians with specialized training in headache disorders and migraine.
Each June, attention turns to two important health priorities: Men’s Health Month and Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, or MHAM. While headache and migraine are commonly associated with women, 1 in 10 men push through pain daily. The misconception that migraine is a woman’s disease often prevents men from seeking treatment. This month is an important opportunity to break the stigma around chronic pain in men.
Every May, National Women’s Health Month encourages us to take a closer look at the issues shaping women’s health. One topic that deserves far more attention is headache and migraine disorders — a neurological condition that disproportionately affects women during their childbearing and working years and remains significantly underrecognized in women’s healthcare. By bringing migraine into the broader women’s health conversation more women can have access to screening and appropriate care.
More than 40 million Americans live with migraine and other headache disorders, making them among the most common—and most disabling—neurological conditions in the country. Yet despite their prevalence and profound impact on daily life, migraine and headache disorders are still routinely underdiagnosed, undertreated and dismissed as lifestyle issues rather than recognized as serious neurological diseases.
More than 40 million Americans live with headache disorders, yet many still struggle to receive timely diagnoses, access specialists or afford effective treatments. These challenges were front and center at the tenth annual Capitol Hill Policy Forum, where advocates, clinicians and policymakers gathered to discuss how federal policy can help close the persistent gaps in headache care.
A new study led by the Headache & Migraine Policy Forum and recently published in the journal Headache quantifies the extent to which insurance barriers continue to limit access to effective migraine treatments. The study found that widespread “Payer Blocking,” whereby health plans delay and deny coverage for prescribed migraine therapies, severely disrupts care as the resulting misalignment between clinical guidelines and payer practices not only undermine patient outcomes but also increases costs across the health system.
One in six Americans suffers from recurrent headaches. Congress can help.
That was the message from hundreds of patient advocates who gathered at the U.S. Capitol for this year’s Headache on the Hill. People living with migraine and other headache disorders use the annual event to highlight legislative solutions that could improve their health care – and their lives.
Headache experts have aligned on the best way to prevent migraine attacks. In newly updated guidance, the American Headache Society’s new position statement highlights CGRP inhibitors as the first-line approach to migraine prevention. First approved by the FDA in 2018, the medications can also reduce pain if they’re administered during a migraine attack.
A “how-to” toolkit on advocating for access to migraine treatment by removing insurance barriers.
