This past February, California Assembly Member Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) introduced AB 2668 – Health Insurance Coverage for Wigs. This legislation provides health insurance coverage for wigs or cranial prosthetics for Californians experiencing medical hair loss due to health conditions, including alopecia areata, and was made possible due to the tireless work of NAAF’s California Advocates for Alopecia. The bill was heard before the California Assembly Health Committee in Sacramento. Speaking on behalf of the bill and telling their own alopecia areata stories were NAAF community members Wendy Petka and Adrianna Zhang. Please watch this video which runs about 10 minutes. The bill passed unanimously, picking up 5 co-authors (jncluding a committee member who himself has alopecia areata) and was passed to the Appropriations Committee. Meanwhile this month, New York State Senator John W. Mannion introduced S09642 which provides similar coverage. We wish to commend NAAF Legislative Liaisons George Mango and Ruth Rama-Witt for their efforts to get this bill introduced. NAAF advocates are hard at work to get wig coverage bills introduced in other states as well. Contact Gary Sherwood if you would like to learn about supporting or introducing similar legislation in your state. Special thanks to Pfizer Inc. and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited for their support of NAAF’s advocacy efforts.
