I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5536 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a 
National Headache Disorders Initiative, to establish an Advisory Council 
on Headache Disorders Research, Care, and Services, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 
Mrs. TRAHAN (for herself, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. KELLY of Illi-
nois, and Mrs. FOUSHEE) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
carry out a National Headache Disorders Initiative, to 
establish an Advisory Council on Headache Disorders 
Research, Care, and Services, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Headache Education, 
Access, Diagnosis, and Care Health Equity Act’’ or the 
‘‘HEADACHE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 
In this Act: 
(1) HEADACHE DISORDER.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘headache 
disorder’’ means a primary or secondary med-
ical condition for which headache is a principal 
symptom. 
(B) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN MEDICAL CON-
DITIONS.—The medical conditions referred to in 
subparagraph (A) include migraine, cluster 
headache, tension-type headache, spinal cere-
brospinal 
fluid 
(CSF) 
leak, 
idiopathic 
intracranial hypertension, new daily persistent 
headache, headache secondary to long COVID, 
orofacial pain disorders, post-traumatic head-
ache secondary to traumatic brain injury, and 
headache disorders affecting vulnerable popu-
lations such as children, pregnant women, and 
older adults. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, except 
as otherwise specifically provided. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL HEADACHE DISORDERS INITIATIVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out an 
initiative, to be known as the National Headache Dis-
orders Initiative (in this section referred to as the 
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‘‘NHDI’’), in accordance with the requirements of this 
section. 
(b) COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the NHDI, the 
Secretary shall— 
(1) establish and implement a comprehensive 
program to address the medical, societal, and eco-
nomic impacts of headache disorders; 
(2) take such actions as may be necessary to in-
crease the clinical and research workforce focused on 
the care of patients with headache disorders; 
(3) coordinate with other Federal initiatives 
with missions that overlap with NHDI, including the 
Helping End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initia-
tive, the NIH Pain Consortium, the Interagency 
Pain Research Coordinating Committee, and the 
Centers of Excellence in Pain Education; 
(4) ensure that Federal resources available to 
support headache disorders research and services 
across all agencies are commensurate with the high 
disease burden exacted by these conditions; 
(5) 
ensure 
prioritization 
of 
fundamental, 
translational, and clinical research to improve the 
speed, accuracy, and cost of diagnosis of headache 
disorders, and the development of innovative thera-
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peutics to prevent and ameliorate the symptoms of 
headache disorders; 
(6) improve protocols for the diagnosis and the 
coordination of care of headache disorders, including 
care pathways that address comorbid medical condi-
tions; 
(7) enhance the epidemiological database of 
headache disorders to ensure comprehensive and in-
clusive data collection that improves clinical care, re-
search, and public health efforts while addressing 
disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and access to 
care; 
(8) enhance social research of headache dis-
orders and coordinate public awareness campaigns 
to reduce stigma associated with such disorders; and 
(9) coordinate with international bodies to inte-
grate and inform global efforts surrounding head-
ache disorders. 
(c) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) oversee the establishment and updating of 
the NHDI; and 
(2) evaluate all Federal programs related to 
headache disorders, including budget requests and 
approvals. 
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SEC. 4. ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HEADACHE DISORDERS RE-
SEARCH, CARE, AND SERVICES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 
and maintain an Advisory Council on Headache Disorders 
Research, Care, and Services (referred to in this section 
as the ‘‘Advisory Council’’) for the purpose of advising the 
Secretary on matters relating to headache disorders. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) FEDERAL MEMBERS.—The Advisory Coun-
cil shall be comprised of experts, to be appointed by 
the Secretary, who collectively are from various 
backgrounds and perspectives, including at least one 
member from each of the following: 
(A) The National Institutes of Health. 
(B) The Office of Research on Women’s 
Health. 
(C) The Food and Drug Administration. 
(D) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services. 
(E) The Indian Health Service. 
(F) The Department of Veterans Affairs. 
(G) The Department of Defense. 
(H) The Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention. 
(I) The Agency for Healthcare Research 
and Quality. 
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(J) The Patient-Centered Outcomes Re-
search Institute. 
(K) The Advanced Research Projects 
Agency for Health. 
(L) The National Center for Complemen-
tary and Integrative Health. 
(M) The Department of Education. 
(N) Other Federal departments and agen-
cies. 
(2) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—In addition to 
the members specified in paragraph (1), the Advi-
sory Council shall include 12 members, to be ap-
pointed by the Secretary, who shall include rep-
resentatives of minority communities, communities 
disproportionately affected by headache disorders, 
and communities underrepresented in headache dis-
orders research, who shall each be from outside the 
Federal Government, and who shall include the fol-
lowing: 
(A) Two individuals who are patient advo-
cates, including one individual who is living 
with migraine and one individual with a non-mi-
graine headache disorder. 
(B) An individual who is a caregiver of a 
child or adolescent with a headache disorder. 
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(C) Individuals who are healthcare pro-
viders specializing in headache (those with a pa-
tient base where greater than 80 percent are 
headache patients), including— 
(i) at least one individual who is Doc-
tor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic 
Medicine; 
(ii) at least one individual who is an 
Advanced Practice Provider; 
(iii) at least one individual who is a 
behavioral health specialist; 
(iv) at least one individual who is an 
orofacial pain specialist; 
(v) at least one individual who is a 
front-line provider (such as a primary care 
physician or emergency care provider); and 
(vi) at least one individual who is a 
researcher with expertise in headache dis-
orders. 
(D) At least one individual who is a rep-
resentative of a non-profit patient advocacy or-
ganization focused exclusively on headache dis-
orders. 
(c) MEETINGS.— 
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(1) FREQUENCY.—The Advisory Council shall 
meet— 
(A) at least once each quarter during the 
2-year period beginning on the date on which 
the Advisory Council is established; and 
(B) at the Secretary’s discretion after the 
expiration of such period. 
(2) ANNUAL RESEARCH MEETING.—Not later 
than two years after the date of enactment of this 
Act, and every year thereafter, the Advisory Council 
shall convene a meeting of Federal and non-Federal 
organizations to discuss headache disorders research. 
(d) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Council shall ter-
minate on the sunset date specified in section 7. 
SEC. 5. DATA SHARING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The heads of Federal agencies, 
within and outside the Department of Health and Human 
Services, that have data relating to headache disorders 
shall, at the request of the Secretary, share such data with 
the Secretary to enable the Secretary to complete the re-
port required under section 6. 
(b) INCLUDED DATA.—The data-sharing requirement 
under subsection (a) includes standardized data collection 
across agencies and integration with non-Federal sources, 
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such as electronic health records, patient registries, and 
population health surveys. 
SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit to 
Congress an annual report containing information relating 
to headache disorders, as specified in subsection (b). 
(b) CONTENTS.—The annual report shall include the 
following: 
(1) An evaluation of all federally funded efforts 
relating to headache disorders research, clinical care, 
and other treatment programs and their outcomes. 
(2) An evaluation of program performance, mis-
sion, and purpose, including data on headache dis-
parities across racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and geo-
graphic lines. 
(3) Recommendations for priority actions, in-
cluding— 
(A) reducing the financial impact of head-
ache disorders on Medicare and other federally 
funded programs; 
(B) improving health outcomes by updat-
ing diagnostic protocols, improving access to 
care, and advancing therapeutic research; and 
(C) strategies to increase public awareness 
and reduce stigma. 
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(4) An annually updated national plan that ad-
dresses both short-term and long-term objectives for 
addressing headache disorders. 
SEC. 7. SUNSET DATE. 
This Act shall cease to be effective on the date that 
is 5 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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