Funding expired for tickborne illness bill named for NC senator. Will it be renewed?
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- House Energy and Commerce Committee will consider a bill named for Sen. Kay Hagan.
- Kay Hagan Tick Act provided $150 million for tick-borne disease research and coordination.
- Funding for the program expired in September, prompting reauthorization bills through 2030
A bill named after North Carolina’s Sen. Kay Hagan to extend the national strategy to combat tickborne illnesses comes before a committee in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
Funding for the Kay Hagan Tick Act expired last year and members of the House and Senate filed bills to ensure the program continues.
“With an estimated 500,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year, it is critical that the United States is equipped to effectively prevent, detect and respond to this growing public health threat,” said Bonnie Crater, co-founder and board member at Center for Lyme Action, in a news release.
Hagan died in 2019, at 66, after contracting the tickborne Powassan virus during a 2016 family trip to Peaks of Otter in Virginia, The New York Times reported.
That same year, Congress passed the Kay Hagan Tick Act to provide $150 million to the Department of Health and Human Services to improve research, testing and treatment of tickborne illnesses and coordinate those efforts across multiple departments. President Donald Trump signed it into law.
The law authorized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide $20 million a year in grants to local state health departments and to educate the public.
“We applaud the foundation laid by the Kay Hagan Tick Act, which established the National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in Humans and we are committed to working with Congress and federal agencies to ensure this strategy is fully implemented and strengthened,” Crater said.
But funding for that program expired in September.
Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, and Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, and Rep. Christopher Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, introduced bills in their respective chambers to extend funding through 2030.
“The reauthorization of our Tick Act is urgently needed to continue to support those who struggle with Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses and keep improving research, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention for these terrible diseases,” Collins wrote in a news release. “Resources from the Tick Act have led to exciting developments such as the first-ever clinical trial for a Lyme disease vaccine for people, which is underway right now at the MaineHealth Institute for Research.”
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce plans to discuss the bill during a hearing Tuesday morning.
Tickborne illnesses
The CDC tracks at least 15 tickborne illnesess including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Powassan.
When Hagan first contracted Powassan, there were only six known cases in the United States. As of 2025, the CDC is tracking 63 cases in 11 states — none in North Carolina.
Severe cases of Powassan can cause inflammation of the brain, brain membrane and spinal cord. Symptoms can include, among other things, loss of coordination or muscle mass, difficulty speaking, seizures and memory problems, according to the CDC.
Powassan caused Hagan to have limited ability to speak, and she eventually died from brain inflammation.
