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.

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. 

A new fixed-dosed combination therapy for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura was approved last month, offering another option for those who need relief. And another therapy is expected to enter the market next year.  

The Department of Defense is making history with a landmark $500 million annual investment. But it’s not for weapons or defense systems. It’s for women’s health research.

Navigating a maddening maze of phone menus and waiting endlessly on hold are enough to give anyone a headache. But for migraine patients and others whose symptoms are worsened by stress, struggling with their insurers’ automated call system may prolong real pain.  

Biomedical researchers have made remarkable advancements in recent years, at least for certain diseases. Many conditions, however, remain underfunded and underexplored, leaving millions of patients without effective treatments or cures. 

Migraine symptoms can be debilitating. A throbbing head, nausea, and hypersensitivity to light and sound can all interfere with patients’ daily lives. The symptoms can also challenge patients’ ability to care for other illnesses or conditions at the same time. 

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.  

Artificial intelligence could redefine the next decade of medicine, particularly in diagnostic tools for headache and migraine. But patient care is paramount, and policymakers should prioritize physician involvement and oversight.

Policymakers are asking the Biden Administration to investigate artificial intelligence’s role in decisions about which seniors get medical care.

People experiencing migraine attacks commonly report to the emergency room for treatment. But ERs seldom offer patients the most suitable treatment. So why go there? 

Some women may discover that their migraine attacks ebb and flow in sync with their menstrual cycle.  Known as “menstrual migraine,” the experience requires greater awareness and education, which the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women’s Health is working to provide. 

The imminent end of the public health emergency is a sure sign that most people have adjusted to a new normal. For people living with headache or migraine, however, COVID-19 remains a current issue, deeply intrusive to their lives. 

While there is still no cure for migraine, there are more options than ever for relieving and preventing the painful and disabling neurologic condition. 

For migraine patients, not all treatment options are on the table – even during open enrollment season.

For many women, her annual well-woman appointment may be the one time a year she speaks with a doctor about her health. And given that women suffer from migraines at a rate three times that of men, amending the Well-Women screening to include questions about the disease has the potential to benefit many women.

Years of advocacy by numerous patients’ and veterans’ organizations, as well as comedian-turned-advocate Jon Stewart, has paid off.