We Are #MoreThanMyeloma on Capitol Hill
By Danielle Doheny, IMF Director, Public Policy & Advocacy
During Myeloma Action Month (MAM) in March 2026, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) brought patients, care partners, and advocates to Capitol Hill, ensuring that the voices of the myeloma community are heard directly by policymakers in Washington, DC.
The 2026 MAM advocacy efforts were grounded in a simple but powerful message: #MoreThanMyeloma. The campaign emphasizes that patients are more than a diagnosis, they are individuals with full lives, responsibilities, and goals, all of which are impacted by their ability to access timely, affordable care.
Over the course of the MAM Hill Day, IMF advocates met with Members of Congress and their staff to share personal stories, highlight ongoing challenges, and reinforce the urgent need for policies that reflect the realities faced by myeloma patients across the country. These conversations made clear that while scientific progress in myeloma has been significant, barriers to access continue to shape patient outcomes and quality of life.
Policy priorities for the myeloma community
The 2026 MAM Hill Day focused on the following key policy priorities aimed at improving access, affordability, and innovation:
Cancer drug parity
Myeloma advocates urged Congress to advance the Cancer Drug Parity Act to ensure that oral cancer medications are covered on par with intravenous and injectable treatments. For people with myeloma, many of whom rely on oral therapies, disparities in coverage can lead to significantly higher out-of-pocket costs and create unnecessary barriers to care.
Prior authorization reform
To streamline prior authorization in Medicare Advantage, the IMF is advocating for passage of the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act. Delays can be especially harmful for patients managing a complex and relapsing disease like myeloma.
Clinical trial access
The Clinical Trial Modernization Act would reduce financial and logistical barriers to study participation by allowing support for expenses (e.g., travel, lodging). Myeloma advocates are highlighting the critical need to expand access to clinical trials so that all patients can benefit from emerging therapies.
Federal investment in research
Hill Day meetings also reinforced the importance of sustained funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as well as the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). Continued federal investment remains essential to advancing innovative treatments, including immunotherapies and cellular therapies that are transforming outcomes for myeloma patients.
Elevating the patient voice
A defining feature of IMF Hill Day is the role of the participating patient and care partner advocates who shared firsthand experiences navigating myeloma diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, bringing real-world perspective to policy discussions. These stories underscored that patients are not defined by their disease. They are parents, partners, professionals, and community members whose lives are deeply affected by policies that determine access to treatment, affordability, and care delivery. For many, Hill Day is not only an opportunity to educate lawmakers, but also a meaningful way to ensure that policy decisions reflect the lived experience of patients.
A call to action
While Myeloma Action Month provides an important moment to raise awareness, the needs of the myeloma community extend far beyond the month of March. Hill Day serves as a reminder that advocacy is essential to ensuring that patients are seen not just as diagnoses, but as individuals. Policies must support the whole person, not just the condition. Together with our dedicated team of myeloma advocates, the IMF is working to ensure that patient voices remain at the center of policy decisions, today and beyond.
If you are interested in becoming a myeloma advocate and sharing your story with policymakers, the IMF offers its Advocacy Master Class, a training program designed to equip patients and care partners with the tools and the confidence needed to engage in advocacy. No prior experience is needed, only a willingness to drive meaningful change.
Reach out to us at [email protected], visit advocacy.myeloma.org to learn more about our activities and how we support our advocates, and subscribe to the IMF Advocacy Newsletter at subscribe.myeloma.org.
(This article was originally published in the 2026 Spring Edition of the IMF's quarterly publication, Myeloma Today. Read the full publication here.)