How a Changed Congress Could Impact Hydrocephalus

On Tuesday, November 6th, voters went to the polls and made some significant changes to the U.S. Congress. While Republicans increased their margin in the Senate, Democrats became the majority in the House of Representatives. Due to the bi-partisan nature of policy issues impacting the hydrocephalus community, this outcome represents both opportunities and challenges moving forward.

For the future, we expect bipartisan action on policy issues of interest to the Hydrocephalus Association, such as increased access to telehealth services and expanding use of health savings accounts. How these elections will impact other HA priorities, such as funding for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, NIH funding, and disability access to buildings remains to be seen.

Unfortunately, some supporters of hydrocephalus issues were not successful in their re-election bids. Among members of the Congressional Hydrocephalus Caucus, Chairman Leonard Lance, (R-NJ) lost to Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), and Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) lost to Jason Crow (D-CO). We sincerely thank Chairman Lance and Representative Coffman for their leadership in increasing hydrocephalus awareness on Capitol Hill. As the 116th Congress convenes, we will work closely with both incumbents and incoming legislators to form a robust caucus designed to bring attention to how Federal policies impact hydrocephalus patients on a day-to-day basis.

Your team at the Hydrocephalus Association is in the midst of identifying new and existing members of Congress with close connections to hydrocephalus issues, whether personal or as part of their professional background. We look forward to working with them and other potential supporters to continue to raise the profile of hydrocephalus as a policy issue.

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Congress Preserves Program Essential to Quality Hydrocephalus Research