Apply Stone’s conceptualization of policy problems to your area of policy interest. Consider all five (5) aspects of policy problems as you present your material. How are symbols, numbers, causes, in
COVID–19 Long Haulers Act
Name
Institutional Affiliation
COVID–19 Long Haulers Act
H.R.2754 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) COVID–19 Long Haulers Act Sponsor: Rep. Beyer, Donald S., Jr. [D-VA-8] (Introduced 04/22/2021) Cosponsors:
(3)Committees: House - Energy and Commerce; Ways and means
Latest Action: House - 04/23/2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. (All Actions)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8867393/
On 27 May 2021, in Los Angeles, California, USA — COVID-19 Long Haulers Act, 117th Congress (2021-2022), presented by Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI), would authorize and support research and education projects for COVID-19 "long haulers," who account for 25–35 percent of individuals with the virus who have long-term impacts. With the support of Solve M.E. and representatives of the Long COVID-19 Alliance, Rep. Beyer's office was able to design data-driven legislative solutions that fit the different requirements of all long haulers and post-infectious disease sufferers (Congress, 2021).
Congressional Representative Don Beyer praised the Solve M.E. and the Long COVID-19 Alliance's "amazing relationship" for helping get us to this "important juncture" (D-VA) (M.E., 2022). This law will benefit millions of people who are presently suffering or may be affected by Long COVID-19 effects in the future because of their devotion to study, advocacy work, and an overall grasp of post-viral illnesses.
About 2.5 million people in the United States now suffer from Myalgia Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) and Long-term COVID-19. However, the pandemic is expected to increase that number by at least two times. ME/CFS will affect at least twice as many people in the United States in the next year. Dr. Anthony Komaroff, Harvard University, called it "an extraordinary occurrence in the history of a chronic condition." Over the next decade, chronic diseases associated with COVID-19 will cost the U.S. economy over $4 trillion in direct and indirect costs (M.E., 2022).
The COVID-19 Long Haulers Act was proposed following the Solve M.E. Advocacy Week. Nearly 350 legislative sessions were conducted during the week-long event, in which three congress members and a high number of attendees pushed for increased money and support.
Long Haulers Act (H.R. 2754) would provide the following:
A $30 million grant to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Study Institute for research & innovation (PCORI).
In order to better deal with long-term symptoms of COVID-19, the health care system will receive $33 million from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
This money will be used to offer information to health care practitioners and the general public regarding the most prevalent symptoms, treatment, and other post-viral disorders.
ME/CFS, Long-Term COVID-19, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), other dysautonomia conditions, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome are just a few of the post-infectious chronic illness communities that Solve M.E. embraces and supports (MCAS). Co-founder Solve M.E. has joined forces with the Long COVID-19 Alliance to educate policymakers about the issues faced by persons with Long COVID-19 and other post-viral disorders.
This pandemic's long-term COVID-19 danger puts our recovery at risk. In order to understand, recognize and treat the protracted symptoms of COVID-19, we will require the COVID-19 Long Haulers Act. A neuroimmune illness, ME/CFS, dramatically influences its sufferers' human health and performance. In the absence of FDA-approved medications or therapies, there is no cure. Excessive weariness at the microscopic scale (exacerbated by exercise) and neurological signs such as extreme sound and light sensitivity, memory deficits, and even full organ system breakdown are possible (Chung et al., 2022).
References
Congress. (2021). H.R.2754 - COVID–19 Long Haulers Act. Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2754/text?r=1&s=2.
Chung, T., Mastarlerz, M., Morrow, A., Venkatesan, A., & Brigham, E. (2022). COVID ‘Long Haulers’: Long-Term Effects of COVID-19. Hopkinsmedicine.org. Retrieved 26 May 2022, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-long-haulers-long-term-effects-of-covid19.
M.E., S. (2022). Nearly $100M in Long COVID Funding Introduced in Congress. Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 26 May 2022, from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nearly-100m-in-long-covid-funding-introduced-in-congress-301301363.html.
