To the Editor:
I am a Multiple Sclerosis (MS) activist. I just took action on the MS issue and thought you might find it interesting as well. You can help shape the policies that impact people living with MS day to day. Take action today: contact our local state representatives and ask them to support President Obama’s detailed budget request to Congress.
President Obama released a detailed budget request to Congress outlining his administration’s funding priorities for Fiscal Year 2010 for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The budget requested $30.8 billion for NIH, which represents a 1.4 percent increase over last year’s funding; a $367 million increase for FDA, which includes funds to establish a new regulatory pathway for approval of generic biologic drugs; and $6.8 billion for CDC.
NIH has been flat-funded for too long. This flat funding has negatively impacted scientific discovery and prospects for the medical research industry by impeding efforts to improve diagnostics, develop better prevention strategies and discover new treatments for MS and many other chronic diseases.
While the FY 2010 budget increases are appearing positive, a more steady and sustainable growth in NIH funding is necessary to keep up with the constant rising costs of medical research. Increasing funding is particularly important to people living with MS. NIH provides more funding for MS research than any other source in the world. Therefore, the Society is supporting an increase of seven percent for NIH funding in FY 2010 in order to move forward with new developments and remain a global leader in modern day science.
As someone whose life is affected by MS, I urge Senator Brown, D-OH, Senator Voinovich, R-OH, and Rep. Zack Space, D-OH, to support a seven percent increase.
A more steady and sustainable growth in NIH funding is necessary to keep up the constant rising costs of medical research. The flat-funded NIH budget has a negative impact on modern day scientific discoveries and prospects for medical research. Fluctuations in the funding hurt the progress of research that seeks to find improved prevention strategies and new treatments for MS, other chronic diseases and medical conditions. A seven percent increase will assist our country’s best scientists down the road to any new knowledge and discoveries that will improve health and bring hope.
MS is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. The progress, severity and symptoms of MS are both unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people like myself who are affected by this disease. These treatments do not remove MS or stop the MS progression, but they do slow down the progression. These treatments are very costly with a price tag of nearly $1,400 per month and vary by the type of insurance. The 2010 FY budget cycle has begun and now is the time to talk with your representatives about their support for increasing the NIH funding level. Let your voice be heard.
Edward L. Hale
Carrollton, OH
<<Back>> |
