H.C.R. No. 86
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited
hemoglobin disorder, but despite its high mortality rates and
severe economic impact, the need for effective therapies remains
unmet; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimates that sickle cell disease affects approximately 100,000
Americans, occurring among about 1 in every 365 African American
births and 1 out of every 16,300 Hispanic American births; and
WHEREAS, Sickle cell disease can affect any organ, including
the kidneys, lungs, and spleen; vaso-occlusive crises are common
among patients, causing recurrent episodes of acute pain and
leading to irreversible end-organ damage, poor quality of life, and
stroke; the life expectancy among sufferers is reduced, tragically,
by some 25 to 30 years; and
WHEREAS, According to a 2018 study, sickle cell disease
imposes a nearly $3 billion economic burden on the U.S. healthcare
system each year, of which 57 percent is attributed to hospital
inpatient costs; more than 70 percent of patients are insured under
state Medicaid programs; and
WHEREAS, The sickle cell disease patient community has long
been medically underserved; in 1972, then-president Richard Nixon
signed the Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act and pledged to end neglect
of the disease, but today, patients still encounter social,
economic, cultural, and geographic barriers to quality care,
including inconsistent treatments, high reliance on emergency care
and public health programs, limited participation in clinical
trials, and lack of access to the limited number of medical
providers with appropriate knowledge and experience; and
WHEREAS, With rapid advancement in such technologies as gene
editing, sickle cell disease stakeholders are working diligently to
expand availability of the transformative therapies that are
currently building clinical momentum; in 2018, the National
Institutes of Health launched the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute Cure Sickle Cell Initiative to accelerate the development
of therapies to cure the disease; at the end of the following year,
the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for a
new treatment, and it has granted Orphan Drug designation to sickle
cell disease therapies in order to encourage scientific innovation;
and
WHEREAS, The costs of sickle cell disease are enormous in
both human and economic terms, but medical science provides hope of
a long-awaited cure; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby express support for equitable access to transformative
therapies for sickle cell disease.
J. Johnson of Harris
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 86 was adopted by the House on May
18, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, 3 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 86 was adopted by the Senate on May
24, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor