Appropriations bill to boost funding for Lupus Research Institute's education program

NEW YORK — An educational program partially conceived by a group focused on lupus research is expected to receive $2 million through a congressional appropriations bill.

The Lupus Research Institute said the 2014 Omnibus Appropriations Bill included $2 million for the Lupus Initiative, and the LRI expects it to pass this week, bringing the total support for the program to $6.6 million. The initiative is a lupus provider education program that the group created with the federal government. The American College of Rheumatology manages the program, which the Office of Women's Health, the Office of Minority Health and the U.S. Surgeon General launched last year.

"Lupus remains dangerously undiagnosed, underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed, especially in our minority communities," LRI CEO Margaret Dowd said. "Our LRI patient advocates across America thank Congress for appropriating funds to train healthcare professionals, especially those on the front lines, to spot this complex autoimmune disease early so patients can get appropriate care promptly."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the Lupus Research Institute would receive the $2 million. The funding goes directly to the Lupus Initiative, while the LRI is the organization that conceived the program with the federal goverment, and the American College of Rheumatology manages it. This version of the story corrects the error.