The American Brain Coalition (ABC) is launching a new effort to collect stories from patients and their caregivers chronicling the difficulties they face in accessing appropriate and timely healthcare. These stories will be used to achieve the same level of public awareness and support for diseases of the brain that has been realized by the American Heart Association for heart disease and the American Cancer Society for cancer.
The ABC is a group of nearly 50 professional societies, patient advocacy groups, and foundation representatives that have joined forces to reduce the burden of brain disorders and advance the understanding of the brain. It was co-founded in 2004 by the American Academy of Neurology and the Society for Neuroscience.
Personal stories from real people often strike a chord with policymakers. With a collection of stories, the ABC hopes to make a compelling case for changes to our current healthcare system. Sharing your experiences will help to illuminate the issue for those in Congress. All information will be kept anonymous and may be used in future advocacy activities.
More than 50 million Americans are affected by diseases of the brain. Please help the ABC attract the level of support for research and care needed to prevent, control, and cure these diseases.
The stories needed for the new project include these areas related to access to care: 1) problems getting a doctor’s appointment; 2) difficulties paying for critical services and treatments; 3) trouble finding insurance that will cover your medical needs; 4) issues trying to see a specialist; or 5) any other problem trying to access healthcare.
The ABC works closely with Congress to combat neurological and psychiatric disorders. Among the ABC’s goals are: 1) to secure adequate funding for research at the National Institutes of Health, 2) to advocate for mental health parity in insurance coverage, 3) to raise awareness of and support for the essential role of responsible animal research, 4) to improve the healthcare system to better serve people with chronic illnesses, and 5) to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Please submit your story, to stories@americanbraincoalition.org or you can mail it to 1121 14th Street, NW, Suite 1010, Washington DC, 20005. Attn: ABC. For more information, visit the Coalition’s website at: www.americanbraincoalition.org.
