Representative Matthew Overcast introduced House Bill 986 to the Missouri House of Representatives in January 2025. The bill brings more awareness to alpha-gal syndrome and Lyme disease.
The Bill
HB 986 adds alpha-gal syndrome and Lyme disease to the list of diseases that must be reported to the Department of Health and Senior Services. Additionally, the bill requires the Department to submit an annual report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that summarizes its findings on the incidence of the diseases on the Department’s list. [1]
Actions
In January, the bill was introduced. As of March 27th, the bill was referred to the Health and Mental Health Committee. [2]
Background
After Representative Overcast’s daughter got alpha-gal syndrome, after seeing multiple doctors, Overcast decided to do something about it. Representative Overcast said, “We as lawmakers can hopefully make some changes in healthcare resources not only to the education side of things, but also to foster more research. There’s just not enough known about it.” [3]
