Over a half a million Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses each year, yet these conditions rarely receive sustained national attention. As tick populations expand across the country and case counts mount, Congress and the executive branch are finding common ground against one of America’s fastest-growing infectious disease threats.
Major public health advances rarely happen by accident. They occur when policymakers act with urgency, purpose, and shared commitment to solving real problems. This year, that kind of cooperation is producing encouraging progress against Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses despite the distractions and divisions that often dominate Washington.
Consider Lyme disease: Federal estimates indicate that approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for the disease each year. The threat continues to grow as disease-carrying ticks spread into new regions and now inhabit roughly half of all U.S. counties. Lyme disease can cause serious neurological and cardiac complications while imposing substantial economic costs through healthcare expenditures and lost productivity.
Recognizing the growing challenge, the Trump administration has made Lyme disease and related illnesses a public health priority. Under the leadership of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the HHS recently announced a series of initiatives designed to strengthen the nation’s response to tick-borne diseases.
The Trump administration’s focus extends beyond Lyme disease. Alpha-gal syndrome, another condition associated with tick bites, can trigger severe allergic reactions to red meat and other mammalian products. According to CDC estimates, nearly 500,000 Americans are living with Alpha-gal syndrome, although emerging evidence suggests the true number may be considerably higher.
To address that threat, NIH has preliminarily identified several promising products that may help prevent Alpha-gal syndrome from developing after a tick bite. Under a proposed public-private collaboration, participating companies would provide candidate products while NIH would fund and oversee the clinical research necessary to evaluate their effectiveness.
More broadly, the administration’s plan includes new investments in tick control, innovation challenge grants to accelerate scientific breakthroughs, and public-private partnerships designed to connect patients with experienced healthcare providers. Secretary Kennedy has described the effort as one of the most ambitious federal campaigns ever launched against Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.
Executive action alone, however, cannot sustain long-term progress. Improving research, surveillance, diagnostics, and patient care require congressional authorization and support. Fortunately, lawmakers in both parties and both chambers are advancing legislation that complements the administration’s agenda.
Last month, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced legislation to reauthorize the Kay Hagan Tick Act, building on federal efforts first established through the 21st Century Cures Act and the original Tick Act enacted in 2019.
The legislation honors former North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan, who died in 2019 from complications related to Powassan virus, a rare but serious tick-borne disease. Her experience helped draw national attention to the growing risks posed by tick-borne illnesses.
The House action follows similar work in the Senate, where the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee previously advanced its own version of the legislation. Together, the proposals would strengthen research funding, improve disease surveillance, expand public awareness campaigns, and provide healthcare professionals with better access to the latest diagnostic and treatment information.
The legislation would also support regional centers of excellence that bring together clinicians, public health experts, and academic researchers to accelerate the development of new diagnostics, therapies, and prevention strategies.
HHS supports these legislative efforts. In a recent letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, Secretary Kennedy emphasized both the scale of the challenge and the need for sustained federal action. He noted that Lyme disease affects multiple body systems, is frequently misdiagnosed, and remains difficult to detect at every stage using current diagnostic tools.
These measures will not resolve every challenge facing Lyme disease patients. Significant questions remain regarding diagnostics, treatment, prevention, and long-term outcomes. Nevertheless, the coordinated response now taking shape represents meaningful progress and demonstrates what policymakers can accomplish when they focus on practical solutions rather than partisan divisions.
In today’s often-contentious political climate, these bipartisan and bicameral efforts stand out as a notable example of effective governance. It serves as a reminder that meaningful policy achievements remain possible, even when they receive less attention than the political conflicts that dominate daily headlines.
There is also a broader lesson. Lasting reforms often emerge not from dramatic political battles but from sustained collaboration among elected officials, public health leaders, researchers, and patient advocates working toward a common goal.
If Congress and the Trump administration maintain this momentum, the nation’s response to these tick-borne illnesses could become a rare example of Washington uniting around a growing public health threat and delivering measurable results for the Americans most affected by it.
The writer is Assistant Secretary for Legislation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
