Alopecia can come with a steep price. Rep. Ayanna Pressley doesn’t want military families to pay it
TheGrio...
Rep. Ayanna Pressley announces the Wigs for Warriors, which could be life-changing for family members of service members living with alopecia.
Across TikTok, you will find video after video of Black women, whether their hair is long and flowing, cropped, or completely shaved off, discussing how hair loss has affected them. The videos range from advice on what’s worked to restore their hair to tutorials to empowering posts meant to inspire others. However, they’re all suffering from the same thing, the autoimmune disorder alopecia.
Many of these women, who are dependents of service members in the U.S. military, have had to resort to crowdsourcing and expensive dermatology and cosmetology care because TRICARE, the medical provider for service members and their families, doesn’t cover medical-grade wigs.
“When individuals in our military families experience severe hair loss, they should be met with the support and care they need to feel like their authentic selves,” Rep. Ayana Pressley said in a statement to TheGrio on Thursday.
The Massachusetts congresswoman, who also lives with the condition, hopes to change that.
Today, Pressley, along with Virginia Congressman Eugene Vindman, is introducing the Wigs for Warriors Act, which would require TRICARE to cover cranial prostheses for individuals with alopecia areata and other non-cancer conditions that cause permanent or medically documented hair loss.
“Through my own experience with alopecia areata, I understand the psychological, social, and economic impact that comes with navigating severe hair loss—and I know that we can do something to lighten the load,” Pressley continued.
She added, “For some, accessing medical-grade wigs can make all the difference.”
For the millions of Americans living with alopecia, including the Black women disproportionately impacted by hair loss, that difference could be significant. And for military families currently forced to shoulder the cost of medical-grade wigs themselves, the Wigs for Warriors Act could close a major gap in care by treating cranial prostheses as what advocates argue they are — a medical necessity.
Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack a person’s hair follicles, resulting in patchy or complete hair loss across the scalp and body, per the Mayo Clinic. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, it impacts nearly 7 million people in the United States. Roughly 50% of Black women will experience hair loss of some kind throughout their lifetime, the American Academy of Dermatology found.
Other well-known figures living with the condition include actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who has been open about her life with the condition and the struggles it can bring, including ridicule and false assumptions about what is actually going on.
Pressley noted in a release the ways in which life with the condition can severely affect a person’s mental well-being. Hair loss can make styling and masking more challenging within professional or institutional dress codes. Losing hair can cause anxiety, depression, struggles with self-worth, extended time off work or away from everyday routines and activities, and it can be downright frustrating to try to reverse.
There is no single cause. The condition can be genetic, brought on by environmental factors, hormonal changes, or even stress. In fact, many Black women in the military, in particular, experience what’s known as traction alopecia, when the hair breaks off from extended styling, including having to comply with military hairstyles that often require hair to be pulled back.
While there is a range of medical and cosmetic treatments to combat the condition, wigs are a documented solution that can make an immediate life-changing impact. However, they can be costly, ranging in price from roughly $200 to well into the thousands. Currently, patients with alopecia areata receive no coverage for a cranial prosthesis — a medical-grade, custom-fitted wig designed to address medically related hair loss. The Wigs for Warriors Act would require TRICARE to cover cranial prostheses for individuals with alopecia areata and other non-cancer conditions that cause permanent or medically documented hair loss, as certified by a physician. Coverage would also extend to hair loss resulting from chemotherapy, regardless of the underlying condition being treated.
The legislation would also eliminate TRICARE’s current lifetime limit of one prosthesis per patient, allowing cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to receive coverage for multiple wigs as medically necessary.
Wigs for Warriors is being supported by NAAF. The president and CEO of the organization, Ryan Reczek, said it was “critical” and that medically necessary cranial prostheses, also known as medical wigs, which can restore well-being and support mental health, should be affordable and accessible under TRICARE.
Despite its obvious need, the bill is arriving at a time when many similar initiatives could be dismissed as “too woke” or “too DEI-driven” and face pushback in Congress. Regardless, this isn’t a fight Pressley and other advocates are likely to give up easily, particularly since the congresswoman has been pushing for greater support for people experiencing hair loss since revealing her own alopecia diagnosis in 2020.
Earlier this year, Pressley, joined by Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Jennifer McClellan, reintroduced the Recognition of Traction Alopecia in Service Women Act, which would expand medical coverage for traction alopecia in the military and require greater education about the risks associated with certain grooming standards. Pressley has also been a leading sponsor of the CROWN Act, federal legislation aimed at banning discrimination based on hair texture and hairstyles commonly associated with race or national origin. Plus, what this could do is too great to give up on easily.
While the condition impacts many adults, 20% of those who develop the condition were children, including a 16-year-old in Prince William County who lost all of her hair by the second grade.
“This bill, which I am proud to lead alongside Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, will help ensure TRICARE beneficiaries with alopecia areata, like my constituent, have access to the care and support they need to feel comfortable and confident,” Vindman said.
Pressley added, I’m proud to lead the Wigs for Warriors Act alongside Rep. Vindman and bring much-deserved relief and support to TRICARE beneficiaries with alopecia areata and other hair loss conditions.”