American Liver Foundation gears up for advocacy summit
April 29-30 event aimed at advancing policies to promote health
Patients, caregivers, and supporters will head to Washington later this month to advocate for policies to improve life for people living with fatty liver disease and other liver conditions.
The American Liver Foundation (ALF) is gearing up for its Liver Life Advocacy Summit, to be held April 29-30.
“ALF has a passionate community of Liver Life Advocates dedicated to making a difference for those living with liver disease,” Lorraine Stiehl, CEO of ALF, said in a foundation press release. “Through our Liver Life Advocacy Summit, we aim to amplify the voices of patients and work with legislators to advance meaningful policies to improve patient outcomes and save lives.”
The foundation will hold a dinner April 29 honoring advocates and members of Congress who have worked to improve liver health. The following day, the ALF’s Liver Life Advocates — a group dedicated to spotlighting liver disease and educating elected officials — will meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and urge them to support the ALF’s legislative priorities.
Funding, Insurance coverage among liver foundation priorities
One of those priorities is to increase funding and education for metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This form of fatty liver disease is marked by excessive liver fat buildup in people who have cardiometabolic issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high blood fat levels, or obesity.
The ALF is also asking lawmakers to allow for coverage for anti-obesity medication under Medicare, the federal program that provides health insurance in the U.S. for people aged 65 and older and younger people with certain disabilities or conditions.
Other priorities include improving access to liver disease treatments and reducing out-of-pocket costs, as well as expanding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention efforts for surveillance and prevention of liver diseases such as hepatitis.
“Federal investment in early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of liver disease continues to lag far behind other chronic diseases and that’s unacceptable when 80-100 million Americans are affected by this often overlooked disease,” the ALF said.
The foundation is also pushing Congress to pass the Living Donor Protection Act, a bill designed to protect organ donors from discrimination in insurance coverage; the Honor Our Living Donors Act, which would ensure that living donors are reimbursed for expenses; and the HELP Copays Act, which aims to make sure that certain types of payments are counted towards cost-sharing requirements for people with insurance plans.
“As someone who had liver cancer and was fortunate enough to become a liver transplant recipient, I understand how devastating a liver disease diagnosis can be,” said Donald Melillo, a Liver Life Advocate living in Ohio. “I’m happy to be alive and healthy today due to my transplant and just want to join ALF in Washington, DC to advocate on behalf of the 80-100 million Americans living with some form of liver disease because this silent killer is a public health crisis.”
More information on becoming a Liver Life Advocate is available from ALF.
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