Senator Lamar Alexander, Chairman
U.S.Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington,DC 20510
Re:Implementation Plan for the National Pain Strategy
Dear Senator Alexander,
As your constituent I thank you for your longstanding leadership in addressing the substantial public health crises of chronic pain and opioid abuse, and seek the your continued support in ensuring that the newly released National Pain Strategy (NPS) is implemented in a timely and coordinated fashion. Developed by six federal agencies, along with 80 experts from the medical, scientific, patient and advocacy communities, the NPS is the federal government’s first coordinated interagency plan and roadmap to achieving a system of effective, safe, high-quality, evidence-based pain care in America.This improved system of care is critical to reducing the burden of chronic pain, as well as ameliorating the nation’s opioid abuse, overdose and addiction crisis.
Studies from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Department of Veterans Affairs reveal that 4 in 10 American adults and 80 percent of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer from chronic pain, at a cost of more than $600 billion annually (Institute of Medicine, 2011; Lew HL, et al., Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 2009). Despite this significant toll, plus the fact that pain remains the number one reason that people seek care from a health care provider, our nation continues to invest meagerly in chronic pain research (only 4 cents per patient in 2015); poorly train and educate our health care providers on the proper assessment and management of pain; and provide minimal to no reimbursement for multidisciplinary non-pharmacologic pain management strategies – a key recommendation called for in the new CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.
Implementing the objectives of the National Pain Strategy willchange this! The NPS provides a clear and actionable road map that will generate critical population research and health services data; advance prevention and pain care strategies; address disparities in pain assessment and treatment; improve pain service delivery and reimbursement; improve health care provider education and training; and foster public education and communication strategies. Further, the NPS clearly delineates short-, medium-, and long-term deliverables, identifies key federal and non-federal stakeholders, and recommends strategies to measure impact.
Millions of Americans – many of whom have bravely and honorably served their country – are counting on Congress to see the National Pain Strategy through to completion. We can’t afford to stop now. As your constituent, I urge you, Chairman Alexander, to help transform the NPS from words on a page to meaningful change in the lives of Americans by sending a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services by the end of June requesting a written implementation plan and corresponding budget from them to be submitted within 60 days of the Committee’s request.
A copy of the National Pain Strategy can be viewed at:http://iprcc.nih.gov/docs/
With sincere appreciation,
Donna L. Marsh
Yvonne J. Clark
