Advocacy & Policy Episodes

The annual health insurance open enrollment period has begun! And a lot of people tend to get through open enrollment on autopilot, assuming that the health insurance that they had last year will continue to serve them well next year. But policies change. Physician networks change. And prescription drug formularies change. If you're living with MS, you can't afford to be on autopilot when it comes to making health insurance decisions. Those decisions can cost you -- in time, money, and unnecessa...

If you're on an MS disease-modifying therapy and you're concerned about how effective your COVID-19 vaccination might be, or you aren't sure whether having MS qualifies you as being immunocompromised and cleared to receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, or you can't begin to figure out whether you qualify to receive a COVID-19 booster, then this podcast episode is for you. Joining me to help us make sense of the flurry of recent announcements by the CDC and provide us with an update on h...

Having a job matters. Most obviously, employment provides the economic resources that people need to more easily manage every other aspect of their lives. Perhaps less obviously, we tend to define ourselves through our work. And without work, we not only face potential economic hardship, we sometimes lose that inner sense of purpose or identity...of understanding who we are. The majority of people living with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 45. And these are the years when you're of...

The FDA has authorized a third dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. What does this mean for people living with MS? Are you eligible for a third dose now? Are you eligible in September? How will your disease-modifying therapy effect that third dose? What if you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine? And who is that Regeneron monoclonal antibody cocktail for? Dr. Nancy Sicotte joins me with an update on vaccines, variants, boosters, and antibodies, explaining how they all may impact people living...

If you've ever wondered about whether MS advocacy makes a real difference, please consider that last year alone, MS Activists helped to bring about these changes: $10 Million increase in funding for the Congressionally-Directed MS Research Program $3 Billion increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health Sustained funding for the CDC's National Neurological Conditions Surveillance System (studying MS is one of the first 2 pilot projects for this new program) Passage of the CREATES...

We're celebrating the 200th episode of RealTalk MS by sitting down with Cyndi Zagieboylo, the President and CEO of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and looking at some of the most vital initiatives ever undertaken by the National MS Society, including the launch of the International Progressive MS Alliance, the MS Society's efforts to support diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the MS movement and in MS clinical research, and the groundbreaking Pathways to Cures blueprint. Over ...

Receiving an MS diagnosis can be frightening. And receiving that diagnosis as a young adult can feel like your whole world just got flipped upside down. When Matoaka Kipp (she/her/hers) received her MS diagnosis at the age of 21, she not only had to come to terms with how that diagnosis would change her life but as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Matoaka also had to confront some of the systemic inequities of our healthcare system. Matoaka joins me this week to share her MS journey. We're al...

This special episode of RealTalk MS is sponsored by EMD Serono and MS in the 21st Century. In today's episode, we're talking about empowering people living with MS to become full partners in their MS treatment and the importance of good communication between patients and their doctors. We're also introducing MS in the 21st Century, a resource that has just recently been made available to the MS community in the United States. My guests are Dr. Mitzi Joi Williams and Carolyn Kaufman. Dr. Willi...

It's MS Awareness Week and we're talking with two remarkable women, Sarah Quezada and Tracey Cooper-Harris, who are living their lives out loud, refusing to let MS define them. We're also inviting you to participate in the first-ever RealTalk MS Listener Survey (and be entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon Gift Card!). We'll share research announced at the recent ACTRIMS Forum that explores whether we may be headed toward Cognitive-Dominant MS. We're also talking about how the National MS ...

When it comes to accessing care and even the disease course itself, MS is not an equal-opportunity disease. We're talking with Dr. Mitzi Joi Williams about the disparities that affect members of minority populations who are living with MS. Dr. Williams is a Board-Certified Neurologist and Multiple Sclerosis Specialist who is passionate about educating and empowering people affected by MS to understand the disease process and the goals of treatment. And Dr. Williams is an expert in understanding...