Neuropathy Patients, Doctors and Medical Professionals Rally in Sacramento to Demand...

Neuropathy Patients, Doctors and Medical Professionals Rally in Sacramento to
Demand Access to Lifesaving Medical Treatments

California Assemblymember Mary Hayashi Calls on California Congressional
Delegation to Remember Needs of Neuropathy Patients at 3rd Annual "Neuropathy
Action Awareness Day"

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- As President Obama continues his
push for national health care reform, more than 300 neuropathy patients,
physicians and medical professionals gathered in Sacramento today to call on
Congress to restore access to life-sustaining and lifesaving treatments for
neuropathy patients. At a press conference kicking off the third annual
"Neuropathy Action Awareness Day," California Assemblymember Mary Hayashi and
those in attendance signed a petition encouraging the California Members of
Congress to remember the needs of neuropathy patients while working on federal
health care reform legislation.

"Neuropathy patients and advocates in California spoke with one voice today to
demand access to the lifesaving treatments we need, and to help ensure that
Congress protects neuropathy patients as it continues the national health care
reform debate," said Michelle Vogel, Executive Director of the Alliance for
Plasma Therapies. "As President Obama and Congress look for ways to cut
health care spending, they must also restore access to critical therapies such
as IVIG (intravenous immune globulin) which is used to treat patients
suffering from neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, myositis and pemphigus, among
other conditions."

Neuropathy Action Awareness Day, sponsored by the Neuropathy Action Foundation
(NAF) and the Alliance for Plasma Therapies (APT), gathered patients,
physicians and medical professionals and representatives from other
organizations including The Neuropathy Association, Foundation for Peripheral
Neuropathy and International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation to learn
about neuropathy and to promote awareness of the disease. Patients and
patient advocates in attendance signed a petition, to be delivered to the
California Congressional delegation, which stated:

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask the Members of Congress from the
State of California to co-sponsor H.R. 2002 and S. 701, the Medicare
Patient IVIG Access Act of 2009, which restores access in all sites of
care to intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) to patients who rely on
this lifesaving therapy. We further ask our Members of Congress to
remember, while debating healthcare reform, that all patients,
especially those with rare diseases, need access to all therapies
prescribed appropriately by their physician and that because every
patient is unique, personalized medicine must play a role in
diagnosing and treating patients with all diseases.

"Every time my neurologist orders a treatment, managed care denies the
request, and each time I have to file an appeal to receive the treatment that
my doctor thinks is best," said Stacey Westurlund, a 31-year-old social worker
and neuropathy patient from Lodi, CA, who spoke at the press conference today.
"I have to employ my skills as a social worker to become my own advocate -
researching available treatment options, partnering with my doctors, and
appealing managed care and insurance company decisions."

Westurlund, who signed the petition to Members of Congress after
Assemblymember Hayashi, was misdiagnosed for a year before being diagnosed
with a form of polyneuropathy. Stacey benefits from regular treatments of
IVIG at home through Medicare, but because her painful condition keeps her
from driving, she was forced to fight health insurers for months until she got
coverage to receive her treatments at her home.

"The last major health care reform legislation passed by Congress decreased
Medicare reimbursements for neuropathy patients and increased obstacles to
getting timely and effective treatment," said Michelle Vogel. "In addition to
restoring access to treatment for all Americans, Congress should enable
physicians, not health insurers, to determine what is best for patients and
what constitutes medically necessary care."

About the Neuropathy Action Foundation

The Neuropathy Action Foundation (NAF) is dedicated to ensuring neuropathy
patients obtain the necessary resources, information and tools to access
individualized treatment to improve their quality of life. The NAF increases
awareness among physicians, appropriate institutions, the general public and
public policy officials that neuropathy can potentially be a serious,
widespread and disabling condition, which may be treatable when appropriate
medical care is provided.
www.neuropathyaction.org

About the Alliance for Plasma Therapies

The Alliance for Plasma Therapies is a national non-profit organization
established to provide a unified, powerful voice of patient organizations,
healthcare providers and industry leaders to educate about the diseases that
rely on plasma derived therapies and advocate for fair access to plasma
therapies for patients who benefit from their lifesaving effects.
www.plasmaalliance.org

SOURCE Alliance for Plasma Therapies

Michelle Vogel, +1-202-329-8643, mvogel@plasmaalliance.org