Virtual Hill Day

The National Eczema Association (NEA) hosts an annual Virtual Hill Day event. NEA Ambassadors are people with eczema and their caregivers who volunteer to advocate for the eczema community.

During this event, Ambassadors are lobbying to:

• Raise awareness among members of Congress and within federal agencies about how eczema significantly impacts those who live with it and their families
• Urge legislators to pass important laws that increase access to affordable, effective eczema healthcare
• Advocate for federal funding allocated for eczema research to better understand and treat eczema

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On behalf of the eczema community, we are asking Congress to:

This bill would require insurers to implement a clear and transparent process for a patient or healthcare provider to request an exception to step therapy, a protocol where patients must try and fail alternative treatments before being approved for the treatment their doctor has prescribed.

This bill would close a loophole that allows many employer health plans to deem certain covered prescription drugs as “nonessential,” which means that the insurer will not count any cost-sharing toward the patient’s deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. This bill would ensure that all copays count.

The Department of Defense’s program provides vital funding for innovative, high-risk, high-reward medical research. In 2023, for the first time ever, NEA Ambassadors helped secure eczema’s eligibility for this crucial funding. However, this inclusion must be renewed each year to continue funding eczema research.

Increased funding will help NIH offset inflation rates and continue contributing critical research advances to the eczema field.

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Virtual Hill Day took place on April 30, 2025. This event is open exclusively to NEA Ambassadors.

You can help us advocate for eczema all year round. Here’s how:

• Become a NEA Ambassador and join us at this year’s Virtual Hill Day
• Sign up to get alerts on new advocacy opportunities here.

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Virtual Hill Day 2025 is sponsored in part by