This post is not meant to be political, but as a Legislative Liaison with National Alopecia Areata Foundation I must share with you what I believe is important as the topic of repealing Obama Care is being debated in Washington DC. As NAAF has been working hard to get a legislative bill to help those on Medicaid to qualify for a cranial prosthetic every other year ,the new administration in DC is attempting to repeal a program that could impact us all. This is what I believe we need to do to protect our futures. There needs to be critical patient protections and contacting your Senators and Congressional offices, sharing with them how repeal or modifications could affect you or those you love. Go to the internet and find out who represents you in your local area and those in Washington DC and be sure your voice is heard regarding your medical needs or those of friends and family members. There are 4 very important points that I would like to highlight in hopes we can all understand how changes in Washington can affect each and everyone of us.

1)Prohibit pre-existing condition discrimination.Could those with Alopecia Areata face not be able to obtain medical insurance because of AA?. This is certainly a possibility if this part of the Health Care Act is changed back to what it use to be before the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

2)Prohibit Lifetime and annual caps on insurance benefits. As we know, most of us with Alopecia have this condition only, but others have other Autoimmune Conditions with AA and limiting our access to medical benefits because of dollar limits could expose people to additional unaffordable costs and fees.

3) Allowing children to stay on their parents plans to 26  years old allow our children to receive medical benefits as they navigate the Alopecia Road. This was certainly true for my daughter who was in her mid 20's still in college while she began to lose her hair. If we did not have her on our policy, the many visits to various doctors to determine what and why she was losing her hair would have cost us a fortune. Having her on our policy allowed us to rule out a number of questions we had and fears regarding our daughters health.

4)Lastly, Enacting and preserving no-nonsense restrictions that cap out of pocket costs is the best way to keep coverage equitable and accessible to all.

In closing this discussion we all must require our legislators demand funding for the National Institute of Health so that research continue for all Autoimmune Diseases. Many believe that these conditions are interrelated and perhaps as the code is cracked for one condition the others will fall into line. Tell your legislators to increase funding so that a cure can be found. It is our government that has supported research for numerous diseases and without government support and intervention our cause will not move forward.