Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Gluten-Free Expo
Get ready! The third annual DC Gluten-Free Expo is scheduled! The Celiac Disease Program and Children's National Medical Center is hosting the expo on June 2, 2013. Tickets are already on sale.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Reasonable Accommodations
Jennifer Esposito is just one of the ever-growing list of celebrities diagnosed with celiac and/or living a gluten-free lifestyle. Diagnosed with celiac in 2009 after an apparently long struggle with the illness, she has become a vocal advocate for celiac awareness. She has a blog and has started a foundation -- called the JW Foundation-- to fund research, advocacy and awareness. And apparently she was recently effectively fired for having the disease.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
FDA Delays
Here's the timeline --
2004 -- Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act passes, requiring FDA to propose within 2 years regulations defining "gluten-free" for purposes of food labeling and finalize those regulations within 4 years. (In case you hate math, that's 2006 for the proposal and 2008 for the final rule).
2007 -- FDA published a proposed rule to permit food manufacturers to label a food as "gluten-free" if, generally, it does not contain more than 20 ppm of gluten. The rule was published on Jan. 23, 2007, with a comment period ending April 23, 2007. (If you're not close to the regulatory process, a four month comment period is LONG).
2011 -- May. FDA publishes a study entitled Health Hazard Assessment for Gluten Exposure in Individuals with Celiac Disease.
2011 -- August. FDA reopens the comment period on its previous rule proposal. In the accompanying press release, the FDA states that it wants up to date information prior to finalizing the rule. And cites to 2008 data. This time, the comment period stayed open for 60 days.
2012 -- October. Over a year later, no final rule has been adopted.
What we need here is a petition for rulemaking.
2004 -- Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act passes, requiring FDA to propose within 2 years regulations defining "gluten-free" for purposes of food labeling and finalize those regulations within 4 years. (In case you hate math, that's 2006 for the proposal and 2008 for the final rule).
2007 -- FDA published a proposed rule to permit food manufacturers to label a food as "gluten-free" if, generally, it does not contain more than 20 ppm of gluten. The rule was published on Jan. 23, 2007, with a comment period ending April 23, 2007. (If you're not close to the regulatory process, a four month comment period is LONG).
2011 -- May. FDA publishes a study entitled Health Hazard Assessment for Gluten Exposure in Individuals with Celiac Disease.
2011 -- August. FDA reopens the comment period on its previous rule proposal. In the accompanying press release, the FDA states that it wants up to date information prior to finalizing the rule. And cites to 2008 data. This time, the comment period stayed open for 60 days.
2012 -- October. Over a year later, no final rule has been adopted.
What we need here is a petition for rulemaking.
Monday, May 3, 2010
May is the Month for Celiacs!
in New York, Maryland and North Carolina. I'll go with it.
It's great to see that lobbying efforts in the community are paying off--government officials seem to be grasping the magnitude of the potential political impact of an effectively unified celiac voting block (sounds scary, doesn't it?) But if you think about it, celiacs are people who, almost by definition, are forced to be activists. Even those of us without any prior advocacy experience learn quickly that the most effective means of safeguarding our health is to speak up and educate the larger community.
There are any number of ways to celebrate Celiac Disease Awareness Month. You can: take a cooking class; attend a fundraiser; participate in a race to raise awareness; go out to eat at a new restaurant with a friend who is NOT a celiac (thus, educating both the restaurant and your friend); get tested for common vitamin and mineral deficiencies...the list goes on and on. Whatever you do--get out there and start talking. Its the best way to honor the spirit of the month and raise awareness!
It's great to see that lobbying efforts in the community are paying off--government officials seem to be grasping the magnitude of the potential political impact of an effectively unified celiac voting block (sounds scary, doesn't it?) But if you think about it, celiacs are people who, almost by definition, are forced to be activists. Even those of us without any prior advocacy experience learn quickly that the most effective means of safeguarding our health is to speak up and educate the larger community.
There are any number of ways to celebrate Celiac Disease Awareness Month. You can: take a cooking class; attend a fundraiser; participate in a race to raise awareness; go out to eat at a new restaurant with a friend who is NOT a celiac (thus, educating both the restaurant and your friend); get tested for common vitamin and mineral deficiencies...the list goes on and on. Whatever you do--get out there and start talking. Its the best way to honor the spirit of the month and raise awareness!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Think Twice About The Tea Parties
The health care bill has passed. For that matter, the health care bill passed, was effectively castrated, and passed again. There are uproars and...tea parties. The ironically named "tea parties" (for who can imagine something so completely counter to the conservative, polite discourse that occurs at most tea parties?) are being held in protest.
To what? Well, to be honest, I am not entirely sure. Taxes increasing to pay for it? (Do they all live in DC where you really do have taxation without representation?) Illegal immigrants with no current coverage will suddenly have access to doctors, thus decreasing the availability of those doctors for citizens? (No, seriously, I heard that one. The lack of basic humanity that must exist to say something so egregious with a straight face...) I do, however, know one thing for certain: there are at least 1 out of approximately every 133 people in the U.S. who should be thanking whatever higher power they believe in that this health care reform has passed. That's right, celiacs. I'm talking to you.
Health insurance companies used to be able to refuse to cover pre-existing conditions if an insured had allowed their previous insurance to lapse for any significant amount of time. Now, there is a provision in the law that disallows insurance companies from refusing coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Celiac disease "presents" with a myriad of symptoms and its impact--if untreated--can be catastrophic on several systems. Anything from gas to severe depression can be clinically linked to celiac. It has been shown to lead to other autoimmune diseases and even cancers. Make no mistake, it is a serious disease. And it has been gaining in prevalence and diagnosis. Presumably, health insurance companies are becoming aware of its far reaching tentacles.
Now imagine--under the old health insurance regime--that you lose your job and your insurance. Your cobra coverage expires. Six months later, you get a new job and--thankfully--new insurance. You fill out the paperwork, noting the existence of celiac. To the extent you think about it, you think that your celiac is being treated as much as is possible by your adherence to a gluten-free diet. But wait. You're having some difficulty dealing with the financial stress of being out of a job for so long. You want to see a doctor for depression, but your coverage is denied: depression is a symptom of celiac, a pre-existing condition. Your back is hurting. You want to get chiropractic treatment, but your coverage is denied: back pain is a symptom of celiac, your pre-existing condition. You break your arm and the doctors discover you have osteoporosis. Coverage for the treatment is denied: brittle bones are a side-effect of celiac, the condition that has effectively eliminated any security you may have felt from having insurance.
This concern, which I became aware of when my husband recently switched jobs, no longer exists. While the above are all hypothetical--I am as yet unaware of any real instance where someone was denied coverage for a celiac disease related incident--it is not difficult to imagine that the industry that denied insurance to a fat baby would make those not-so-attenuated arguments.
So. For all of you celiacs out there...avoid the Tea Parties. I don't think they can accommodate a gluten-free diet.
To what? Well, to be honest, I am not entirely sure. Taxes increasing to pay for it? (Do they all live in DC where you really do have taxation without representation?) Illegal immigrants with no current coverage will suddenly have access to doctors, thus decreasing the availability of those doctors for citizens? (No, seriously, I heard that one. The lack of basic humanity that must exist to say something so egregious with a straight face...) I do, however, know one thing for certain: there are at least 1 out of approximately every 133 people in the U.S. who should be thanking whatever higher power they believe in that this health care reform has passed. That's right, celiacs. I'm talking to you.
Health insurance companies used to be able to refuse to cover pre-existing conditions if an insured had allowed their previous insurance to lapse for any significant amount of time. Now, there is a provision in the law that disallows insurance companies from refusing coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Celiac disease "presents" with a myriad of symptoms and its impact--if untreated--can be catastrophic on several systems. Anything from gas to severe depression can be clinically linked to celiac. It has been shown to lead to other autoimmune diseases and even cancers. Make no mistake, it is a serious disease. And it has been gaining in prevalence and diagnosis. Presumably, health insurance companies are becoming aware of its far reaching tentacles.
Now imagine--under the old health insurance regime--that you lose your job and your insurance. Your cobra coverage expires. Six months later, you get a new job and--thankfully--new insurance. You fill out the paperwork, noting the existence of celiac. To the extent you think about it, you think that your celiac is being treated as much as is possible by your adherence to a gluten-free diet. But wait. You're having some difficulty dealing with the financial stress of being out of a job for so long. You want to see a doctor for depression, but your coverage is denied: depression is a symptom of celiac, a pre-existing condition. Your back is hurting. You want to get chiropractic treatment, but your coverage is denied: back pain is a symptom of celiac, your pre-existing condition. You break your arm and the doctors discover you have osteoporosis. Coverage for the treatment is denied: brittle bones are a side-effect of celiac, the condition that has effectively eliminated any security you may have felt from having insurance.
This concern, which I became aware of when my husband recently switched jobs, no longer exists. While the above are all hypothetical--I am as yet unaware of any real instance where someone was denied coverage for a celiac disease related incident--it is not difficult to imagine that the industry that denied insurance to a fat baby would make those not-so-attenuated arguments.
So. For all of you celiacs out there...avoid the Tea Parties. I don't think they can accommodate a gluten-free diet.
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