{"id":273684,"date":"2024-09-30T15:24:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T19:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/?p=273684"},"modified":"2024-09-30T15:24:01","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T19:24:01","slug":"california-establishes-rare-disease-advisory-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/california-establishes-rare-disease-advisory-council\/","title":{"rendered":"New California Law Establishes the Jacqueline Marie Zbur Rare Disease Advisory Council (RDAC)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Council will advise and advocate on the needs of California\u2019s rare disease community<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>SACRAMENTO, CA, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 <\/strong>\u2014 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 2613, legislation that creates the Jacqueline Marie Zbur Rare Disease Advisory Council (RDAC). Named in honor of Assemblymember Rick Zbur\u2019s sister who battled <a href=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/rare-diseases\/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)<\/a>, Assemblymember Zbur introduced AB 2613, which was championed by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and 35 <a href=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AB2613-Patient-Organization-Letter-of-Support-8.30.24.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">other patient organizations<\/a>, to establish a dedicated Council to address the needs of Californians affected by rare diseases.<\/p>\n<p>With Governor Newsom\u2019s signature, California becomes the 29<sup>th<\/sup> state to create an RDAC. The California RDAC will include a diverse group of members from the rare disease community including patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, researchers, and pharmaceutical and health insurance companies that educate and advise lawmakers about rare disease and make recommendations on how to improve access to critical healthcare and other services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRare disease impacts 1 in 10 Californians. For Assemblymember Zbur, this is not just a statistic. He knows firsthand the heartbreak and burden rare disease patients and families face as they navigate a complex healthcare system,\u201d said<strong> NORD CEO Pamela Gavin. <\/strong>\u201cWe are immensely grateful to him for championing this legislation and to the Governor for signing it into law and giving the California rare disease community a vital voice in guiding state policy that will help transform and save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_273688\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-273688\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-273688 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Assemblymember-Zbur-and-Jackie-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Assemblymember Zbur his sister and Jackie, who has her arms wrapped around his shoulders.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Assemblymember-Zbur-and-Jackie-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Assemblymember-Zbur-and-Jackie-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Assemblymember-Zbur-and-Jackie.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-273688\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>CA Asm. Rick Chavez Zbur and his sister, Jacqueline Marie Zbur, after whom the RDAC is named<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Nationwide, more than 30 million Americans have a rare disease, defined as any disease that impacts fewer than 200,000 people. Of the more than 10,000 known rare diseases, only approximately 5% have an FDA-approved treatment.<a href=\"#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\">[i]<\/a> Getting an accurate diagnosis can take years for some rare disease patients and their direct medical costs have shown to be three to five times higher than someone of similar age who does not have a rare disease.<a href=\"#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\">[ii]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am deeply grateful to Governor Newsom for signing into law AB 2613, a bill to create a Rare Disease Advisory Council (RDAC), named after my late sister Jackie Zbur,\u201d said<strong> Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood). <\/strong>\u201cThis moment is profoundly personal for me, as my sister Jackie is the reason I ran for office in the first place. Near the end of her battle with ALS, she made me promise her to pursue public service to use my voice to help others. Your organization\u2019s support of this bill honors her legacy and ensures that the rare disease community in California will finally have the platform it deserves. I am especially thankful to NORD for its tireless advocacy and partnership in making this bill a reality. With this, we take a significant step toward fulfilling my promise to Jackie\u2014to make a real difference for families facing these challenges, just as she hoped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sad truth is the hardships families like mine face across California and the US are all too common. Parents like me often feel invisible and lost,\u201d said<strong> Mike Hu, an Oakland resident with two sons both living with a rare disease. <\/strong>\u201cBut our family has never lost hope. California\u2019s new Rare Disease Advisory Council will make a meaningful difference in the lives of those impacted by rare diseases and build a future where no rare disease patient is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_273687\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-273687\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-273687 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ASM-Zbur-Lindsey-Mike-Hu-Salina-Valencia-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Assemblymember Zbur, NORD State Policy Manager Lindsey Viscarra, Mike Hu (rare caregiver and member of the RDAC Coalition steering committee) and Salina Valencia, Legislative Director for ASM Zbur\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ASM-Zbur-Lindsey-Mike-Hu-Salina-Valencia-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ASM-Zbur-Lindsey-Mike-Hu-Salina-Valencia.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-273687\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>From left to right: Mike Hu, member of NORD&#8217;s RDAC Coalition steering committee; Salina Valencia, Legislative Director for Asm. Zbur; Asm. Rick Chavez Zbur; and Lindsey Viscarra, NORD State Policy Manager<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On Friday, September 27, Governor Newsom declared California as the second state this year to establish an RDAC, after <a href=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/mississippi-enacts-critical-reform-to-improve-access-to-care-for-the-1-in-10-state-residents-living-with-a-rare-disease\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mississippi earlier this year<\/a>. In 2020, NORD launched Project RDAC to expand the number of states with an RDAC and to optimize the existing RDACs to ensure their benefit to the rare disease community.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our incredible advocates played a vital role in pushing AB2613 forward and making the California RDAC a reality, both in-person at our first-ever lobby day, and through countless letters and emails to lawmakers. An extra special thanks to the RDAC Coalition Steering Committee members for their unwavering commitment and leadership. Together, we\u2019re making a difference for the rare disease community in California,&#8221; stated<strong> Lindsey Viscarra, NORD State Policy Manager.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Individuals can get involved and support their state\u2019s rare disease community by joining NORD\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/driving-policy\/join-the-rareaction-network\/\">Rare Action Network<sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/a> and learning more about NORD\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/rare-disease-advisory-councils\/\">Project RDAC and Rare Disease Advisory Councils<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_271519\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-271519\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-271519\" src=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rdac_08_2024_3-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"CA advocates at a NORD-hosted lobby day in Sacramento\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rdac_08_2024_3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rdac_08_2024_3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rdac_08_2024_3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rdac_08_2024_3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rdac_08_2024_3-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-271519\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>California advocates gathered in Sacramento for NORD&#8217;s California RDAC Lobby Day on June 27, 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><u>About the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With a more than 40-year history of advancing care, treatments and policy, the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is the leading and longest-standing patient advocacy group for the more than 30 million Americans living with a rare disease. An independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, NORD is dedicated to individuals with rare diseases and the organizations that serve them. NORD, along with its more than 340 patient organization members, is committed to improving the health and well-being of people with rare diseases by driving advances in care, research and policy.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\">[i]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s13023-023-02790-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s13023-023-02790-7<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\">[ii]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ojrd.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s13023-021-02061-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">https:\/\/ojrd.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s13023-021-02061-3<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Council will advise and advocate on the needs of California\u2019s rare disease community SACRAMENTO, CA, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 \u2014 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 2613, legislation that &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/california-establishes-rare-disease-advisory-council\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;New California Law Establishes the Jacqueline Marie Zbur Rare Disease Advisory Council (RDAC)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[504,2394,232,190,2572],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-273684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases","category-nordinthenews","category-advocacy","category-featured-news","category-rdacs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273684\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}