Successes and Advances in Migraine Care Through Headache on the Hill: Julienne Verdi

WATCH TIME: 6 minutes

"If you’re a veteran who lives in Nevada, for example, where there is no [nearby] headache center, you may have to drive many hours to see a headache specialist. We don’t think it’s acceptable for our veterans who’ve made the ultimate sacrifices in their lives and put their bodies on the line. We have an obligation to care for them."

Each year, volunteer advocates and those from the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy come together for Headache on the Hill, a day in which this group presents Congress with requests, or asks, that seek to spotlight legislation affecting the headache community. This year’s meeting covered 3 main requests, the first of which was to establish a Congressional Caucus for Headache Disorders to increase awareness about the prevalence and seriousness of these conditions, as well as work toward eliminating the stigma that comes with it.

Other asks included a potential letter to the Department of Education requesting that children with migraine and other severe headache disorders receive special education services under the IDEA Act, as well as ask Congress to co-sponsor the Care for Long-COVID Act. In addition to requesting co-sponsorship, the group stressed that the legislation prioritize research that focuses on headache and migraine exacerbated by long COVID. If these are to come to fruition, it would add to previous successes by the organization, most notably, the creation of headache centers of excellence within the Veterans Health Administration.

Following the event, NeurologyLive^® sat down with Julienne Verdi, executive director of the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy, to discuss some of the recent successes at these events, and the benefits they bring to patients with migraine. She spoke in-depth on the expanded efforts to provide access to centers of excellence, and how these institutions help inform the current asks for years to come.