Reps. Angerer, Ball, Lisa Brown, Terry Brown, Constan, Cushingberry, Dean, Durhal, Geiss, Gonzales, Green, Hammel, Haugh, Rick Jones, Robert Jones, Lahti, LeBlanc, Leland, Lemmons, Liss, Lori, Marleau, Melton, Neumann, Polidori, Proos, Rogers, Wayne Schmidt, Scripps, Segal, Sheltrown, Slavens, Smith, Spade, Tyler and Valentine offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 30.

A resolution recognizing February 28, 2009, as Rare Disease Day in the state of Michigan.

            Whereas, February 28 has been recognized as Rare Disease Day by millions of people throughout the United States of America and the world; and

            Whereas, According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 30 million Americans suffer from almost 7,000 rare diseases. Rare diseases are classified as those that affect fewer than 200,000 individuals; and

            Whereas, Thousands of Michigan residents are affected by rare disease as patients, friends and family, caregivers, physicians and other medial professionals, providers of social services, and researchers seeking to develop safe and effective treatments; and

            Whereas, Many rare disease are serious or even life-threatening, most with no treatment; and

            Whereas, Since many rare diseases are genetic, about half of the people affected by rare diseases in the U.S. are children; and

            Whereas, People with rare disease experience challenges due to the nature of their disease including: difficulty in obtaining a timely and accurate diagnosis, difficulty in finding physicians or treatment centers with the needed expertise, treatments that are generally more expensive than those for common disease, reimbursement issues related to private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid; and

            Whereas, Research on rare diseases is important because it often adds significantly to the general understanding of more common diseases; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body

recognize February 28, 2009, as Rare Disease Day in the state of Michigan; and be it further

            Resolved, That the members of this legislative body urge all Michiganians to use this

day as an opportunity to educate themselves about the challenges of rare diseases.