Why Your Opinion about the CDC Action Plan Matters

Posted by: Barbara Collura at July 2, 2012
Category: Federal and State legislation

You may have heard that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drafted a National Action Plan on Infertility (my shorthand title) and that the plan was available for public comment. The comment period has now been extended to July 16, 2012, and you have a unique opportunity to voice your opinion. But really, does it matter if you, someone who is part of the infertility community, responds to the Action Plan? Yes, yes, and yes again! Here are my reasons why you should respond -- as well as information on how easy it is to respond (I even share some of my key takeaways and suggested comments!)

The CDC National Action Plan is the first attempt by our nation’s public health agency to put a plan together to move the infertility agenda forward. This includes research, public awareness, and prevention. By having people in the infertility community including patients, insurers, physicians, nurses, embryologists, pharmacists, pharmaceuticals – and everyone else – it shows the CDC that people with infertility matter. The CDC reads every response, and believe me, numbers matter!
While it may not be *perfect*, the Action Plan is a starting point to identify key priorities for all of us in the infertility community. How can we really make progress if everyone is doing their own thing? The Action Plan, if created and followed, could put us all on the same path.
The CDC needs to hear how important infertility really is. Yes, the Action Plan is important, but what is more important is for the leadership of CDC to understand that U.S. citizens really do care. The leadership needs to realize that infertility really is important, which means more resources needs to be dedicated to infertility at the CDC.

So what are some of the key takeaways from the National Action Plan?

We do need better and more timely data including who is diagnosed with infertility, the efficacy of various treatments, and what treatment is best for each individual patient.
We need a national public awareness campaign on infertility.
We need insurance coverage for infertility.
We need the CDC to take a leadership role with the Action Plan.

Please, take the time to read the National Action Plan, and please comment by July 16. If you comment online, your comments will be made public. If you want to comment but want to protect your privacy, the CDC recommends you mail your comments to the CDC via regular mail – do not comment via the internet. If you are ready to comment, go to www.regulations.gov and type in Docket Number CDC-2012-0004. You can also read other comments that have been submitted by searching by the same Docket Number above. Read RESOLVE's National Action Plan Comments here.

Now is your chance – please take the time to tell our nation’s public health agency that people with infertility matter!

Barbara Collura is President/CEO for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. She can be reached at bcollura@resolve.org or 703.556.7172.