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.

More than one-third of veterans have been diagnosed with or exhibited symptoms of migraine disease. That’s about twice the national average. This uniquely positions the VA Health Care System to help more veterans get access to innovative treatments.

A new treatment is expanding options for the 40 million people living with migraine disease.

Managing a painful and debilitating disease with no known cure is an uphill struggle for doctors and patients alike.

People who experience episodic migraine know how painful and debilitating the attacks can be. Now, these patients have a new option for stopping attacks before they start.

By Christopher Gottschalk, MD, FAHS

Headaches are just an excuse to avoid everyday responsibilities, society sometimes tells us, certainly not a “real” medical problem. My years of treating patients prove this stereotype utterly inaccurate.

For some people living with migraine disease, trying to access appropriate medication has become a headache – literally.

Patients suffering from cluster headache may soon enjoy a breath of fresh air. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced last month a proposed decision to make home-use oxygen a coverable treatment for cluster headache.

For the 39 million Americans who experience migraine headaches, noninvasive devices offer a new option for stopping painful symptoms. Insurers, however, are giving the devices the cold shoulder.

A new Medicare policy is having unintended consequences for people with migraine disease and movement disorders, recent survey findings reveal.

By Mary Franklin, MA

This fall, Congress introduced a first-of-its-kind resolution that acknowledged the ways migraine disease affects millions of Americans. For me and the headache and migraine disease community, the action was acknowledgment of how far we’ve come in gaining recognition of the debilitating condition that affects 39 million Americans.