UNITED SPINAL ASSOCIATION

Health Issues

United Spinal met with researchers from the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, www.herl.pitt.edu supported by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Physical Access and Transportation. Discussion topic was wheelchair user securement in air and ground transportation. United Spinal as a member of the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC), a coalition dedicated to improving disability and rehabilitation research policy and funding, signed onto a letter to the National Institutes of Health in response to: Notice of Availability and Request for Information; Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability Equity; FR Doc. 2024-11838. The letter read in part: We appreciate the federal governments significant efforts in recent years to invest in disability research, particularly at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL). United Spinal signed on to a Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC) letter to offer feedback on Reforming the National Institutes of Health: Framework for Discussion. United Spinal signed on to a letter opposing a rider added in the subcommittee markup of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill prohibiting the FDA from banning medical devices or uses of medical devices to the extent that they are court-ordered. We expressed opposition to Sec. 722 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025. Worked with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) regarding a press release and Congressional resolution honoring SCI Awareness Month for September 2024. Scheduled 20+ House and Senate meetings in August to discuss bowel management supplies insurance non-coverage issues for individuals with SCI and spina bifida. Met with the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research at the Department of Health and Human Services to review potential funding opportunities to support advancing rehab outcomes for our community. United Spinal seeks legislative or report language directing the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to collaboratively conduct a pilot program measuring the potential beneficial health and functional short- and long-term outcomes and health cost savings achieved from extended lengths of stay in initial traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation settings by employing needed technologies and enhancing consumer training.