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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) and Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI) reintroduced the National Pain Care Policy Act of 2009, legislation to improve pain care research, education, training, access, outreach and care.
“I am pleased to join my colleague Congressman Rogers and ninety-eight organizations representing the pain care community in supporting this legislation that will help millions of Americans suffering from pain,” said Capps. “Pain is the leading cause of disability in the United States and is straining our health care system. Fortunately we don’t have to remain debilitated by pain. This legislation takes several important steps to improve the assessment, understanding, and treatment of pain. Hopefully this will provide much needed relief for many people suffering from pain.”
“Chronic pain is the most common reason people seek medical care,” Rogers said. “Pain not only makes daily living more difficult and in many cases can be life threatening, it also puts a heavy financial burden on sufferers and their families. Estimates put the price tag at more than $70 billion for chronic pain conditions accompanying a wide range of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and arthritis. Moving forward with chronic pain education, access and research is crucial to help find solutions for this major public health problem and growing medical crisis for millions of Americans.”
The National Pain Care Policy Act of 2009 would combat pain in four ways: by authorizing an Institute of Medicine Conference on Pain Care; authorizing a Pain Consortium at the National Institutes of Health; providing comprehensive pain care education and training for health care professionals; and by instituting a public awareness campaign on pain management. This legislation is a reintroduction of H.R. 2994 from the 110th Congress, which passed the House of Representatives in 2008. Congresswoman Capps and Congressman Rogers are hopeful that the National Pain Care Policy Act will clear both the House and Senate during the 111th Congress and be signed into law.
Over ninety leading organizations representing the pain care community have joined Congresswoman Capps and Congressman Rogers in support of this legislation, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the American Pain Foundation and a coalition of leading professional organizations in the pain field.
“Cancer patients face a fear of pain that can be worse than the fear of treatment itself,” said Daniel E. Smith, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “This legislation will address significant pain management barriers such as, lack of physician training, patient awareness and treatment disparities based on gender, age and race.”
“Passage of the National Pain Care Policy Act is more important than ever” said Dr. Ed Michna, Chair of the Pain Care Coalition. “With pain a huge and growing public health problem in an aging population, a stepped up effort at NIH and other federal agencies is essential. This bill will make pain care a public health priority as Congress considers even more far-reaching health reform measures in the months ahead.”
Congresswoman Capps, a registered nurse, serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.
Congressman Rogers serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.
A copy of the statement of support from 98 organizations from around the country:
Consensus Statement Supporting the National Pain Care Policy Act of 2009
H.R. 756
Pain touches every member of our society at some point in life. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that 76.2 million one in every four Americans have suffered from pain that lasts longer than 24 hours; millions more suffer from acute pain. Left untreated, pain can rob quality of life and affect every aspect of daily living, including work, sleep, and social relations.
NOW is the time to educate healthcare professionals, people in pain and their loved ones, as well as the general public about the importance of achieving appropriate pain assessment and management and addressing the barriers that prevent pain control in every instance, particularly among minority and other medically underserved populations, and to coordinate research on the causes of pain and development of improved therapies to manage it adequately.
As members and representatives of the pain care community, the undersigned organizations support and urge passage of the National Pain Care Policy Act, which includes the following four actions:
Convene an Institute of Medicine Conference on Pain Care, with a Report Summarizing Findings and Recommendations;
Expand through the Pain Consortium at the National Institutes of Health an Aggressive Program for Basic and Clinical Research on Causes and Potential Treatments of Pain.
Create an Education and Training Grant Program to Improve Health Professionals’ Understanding and Ability to Assess and Appropriately Treat Pain; and
Develop and Implement a National Pain Management Public Outreach and Awareness Campaign.
Signed,
Alabamians for Pain Relief
Alliance for Prostate Cancer Prevention
Alliance of State Pain Initiatives
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
American Academy of Pain Management
American Academy of Pain Medicine
American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Chronic Pain Association – Bradford Vermont Support Group
American Chronic Pain Association
American Headache Society
American Pain Foundation
American Pain Society
American Pharmacists Association
American RSDHope
American Society for Pain Management Nursing
American Society for Pain Management Nursing - Connecticut Chapter
American Society for Pain Management Nursing - St. Louis Chapter
American Society for Pain Management Nursing – Pittsburg Chapter
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Pain Educators
American Stroke Foundation
American Syringomyelia Alliance Project
Arizona Pain Initiative
Better Ending Partnership
Beyond Chronic Pain
Bombobeach.com Adhesions Support Group
Boston Scientific
Bradford Vermont Support Group of the American Chronic Pain Association
Carolinas Center for Hospice and End of Life Care
Center for Practical Bioethics
Cephalon, Inc.
Children's Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition
Citizen Advocacy Center
Colorado Pain Consortium/Initiative
Comfort Care Unlimited
Compassion & Choices
Connecticut Pain Initiative
DC Pain Initiative
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome National Foundation
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Network CARES INC.
Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Fibromyalgia Outreach Foundation of Central Florida
Florida Pain Initiative
For Grace
Georgia Pain Initiative
Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association
HealthSaaS.net
Hemophilia Federation of America
Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
Idaho Pain Initiative
Indiana Hospice & Palliative Care Organization
Intercultural Cancer Council Caucus
International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care
Jacobs Light Foundation
Kansas LIFE Project
Kansas Pain Initiative
King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Lance Armstrong Foundation
MAGNUM: The National Migraine Association
Maine Pain Initiative
Maryland Pain Initiative
Massachusetts Pain Initiative
Medtronic, Inc.
Michigan Cancer Pain Initiative
Mid-Valley Pain Clinic
Missouri/Arkansas Interstitial Cystitis
Missouri End-of-Life Coalition
Missouri Pain Initiative
Montana Pain Initiative
National Alliance of African American Prostate Cancer Advocates
National CFS & Fibromyalgia Association
National Fibromyalgia Research Association
National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
National Pain Foundation
National Vulvodynia Association
New Hampshire Pain Initiative
New Mexico Pain Initiative
North Carolina Pain Initiative
Northern California Pain Initiative
Oregon Pain Management Commission
Pain and Policy Studies Group
Pain Care Coalition
Pain Connection
Pain Treatment Topics
P.A.N.D.O.R.A, Inc
Pennsylvania Cancer Pain Initiative
Pennsylvania Prostate Cancer Coalition
Purdue Pharma L.P.
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association of America
Southern California Cancer Pain Initiative
Texas Pain Advocacy & Information Network
There is Hope...For Chronic Pain
The TMJ Association
University of CT John Dempsey Hospital
Virginia Cancer Pain Initiative
Washington Alaska Pain Initiative
Western Pain Society
West Virginia Pain Initiative
Wisconsin Pain Initiative
XL Hospice, Inc.
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Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.
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