Pain Act Passes House

By Denise Coleman Saturday, April 11, 2009

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I am very pleased that The National Pain Care Policy Act, of which I have written about before, has passed the full House of Representatives. It made it this far last year but got stalled in the Senate, meaning it had to go through the full process again during this Congressional Session.

Thanks to Senator Hatch from Utah and Senator Dodd of Connecticut The National Pain Care Policy Act was introduced to the full Senate as S.660. This is the time for everyone to contact the Senators from your state to urge them to vote in favor S.660. And if you are from Utah or Connecticut to thank your Senator for sponsoring the Bill.

Once the Senate passes it, and I am assuming they will, the Bill goes to a committee made up of representatives both the Senate and the House to iron out any differences between the two Bills, if there are any and usually there are some, even if they are minor. It will then go to President Obama to be signed into law.

Those of us living with chronic pain have many reasons to want The National Pain Care Policy Act to become law, not the least being the increasing restrictions on doctors’ ability to provide the most effective medicines for chronic pain, specifically opiates. Efforts to do this are taking place throughout the country, sometimes by making it illegal to prescribe certain drugs and in other places by putting tight regulations and oversight on prescriptions making some doctors too intimidated to prescribe certain drugs.

For more information about the National Pain Care Policy Act you can look at my previous Share Posts on this topic or go to www.painfoundation.org

We must all be our own advocate for the best care of our chronic pain; we must speak up to our doctors and other medical professionals about our needs and with our government officials about the policies that will allow us to live a better, happier life.

Thank you.

Reunion Ruminations

Comments (9) | Add comment

Anonymous

4/13/09 2:50am

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC

Denise,

This is fabulous information! I have posted the US Senator information for each State above, enabling us to write to our State Senator(s) urging them to vote in favor of S.660. It's a simple as clicking on your State and sending VOTE IN FAVOR OF S.660!

Have a wonderful day ~

dsrnc

4/16/09 10:27am

I followed the links to both my senators sites and urged them to vote for the bill. It was annoying that they wouldn't let me send without putting in a phone number.

I guess it really doesn't matter, they all drowned me in calls the last election anyhow.

Denise Coleman

4/16/09 3:49pm

Thank you for following through and writing to your Senator. I guess the elected officials like to know who is contacting them, although I know that in some cases the requirements come from the Election Commission, or whatever the oversight commission is that monitors campaigns and elections.

Let's hope the Senate actually does something with this Act this year. Last year it passed the House and never saw the light of day in the Senate, which makes your letters that much more important. I hope others are writing as well.

Best,

Denise

dsrnc

4/16/09 5:30pm

Unfortunately, when I tried to find the bill to read the actual language, I couldn't find it by S 660. It showed up when I used National Pain Care policy, but the bill numbers attached were HR's. Hope my reps in DC can find it too. LMAO.

Denise Coleman

4/16/09 9:17pm

I'm sorry for the confusion. Once the Bill passes the House it is assigned a new number for the Senate discussion and vote, which is S. 660. If you click on http://www.painfoundation.org/page.asp?file=Action/intro.htm you should connect to the American Pain Foundation page that discusses the current action needed, and at the bottom of the 5th paragraph you will see that it says, "click here for a summary of the National Pain Policy Act." I hope that will provide you with the information you are interested in.

I wrote an earlier Post on the Pain Care Policy Act so you can go back to that as well and get a summary of the Bill's provisions.

I hope this is helpful and you will be able to link to the important sites.

Best,

Denise

Lorana

4/20/09 2:03am

This would help so many of us that have done all the right things, kept the same Dr. stayed at the same Pharmacy. But when I had a true emergency to the hospital ER with a broken neck but because we have that big "DRUG DEPENDENT" typed on our forehead we lay there for hours in extreme pain before a specialist finally shows up and asks "X-Rays"? How fast people can move, did the ER Dr. even show his face? apologize? Even though I had not been to the hospital for even a "headache" I was treated like someone I would never treat the smelliest homeless person, we don't know their story, but ours is stamped in that chart, not fair. Thank you for helping to get us the help and notice as a person with Chronic Pain, a nerve that has us crippled without the crutch.

Lorana

cindi

5/12/09 12:16pm

hi denise, i did go to this site and signed the petittion(??) and alos have replied to my state senator, both very easy things to do...the video the young people put together , madee me cry, they were so articulate and honest in thier video, anyway how do i get back ther, you had mentioned , because i really want to do more if i can, to help with all the people in such horrible pain ( myself and you included :), so can you steer me in the righht way?? you had mentioned i go to advocacy listings and /or leaders icon, i sure would appreciate it iif you could tell me where to go...thanks and keep up the good, no great work you do!!! cindi

Denise Coleman

5/12/09 4:37pm

Hi,

Try going to www.popactionnetwork.org or www.painfoundation.org and see if you get to the correct page. If you get connected to the American Pain Foundation then click on the icon on the right of the page that says Power Over Pain Action Network or POPAN, either one will bring you to the volunteer pages.

Once you get there you should fill out the survey and let them know that you are interested in volunteering. Someone will be in contact with you shortly afterward. OR, I could put someone in touch with you if you would like. You just have to tell me what State you live in, either by replying to this or sending me a personal message through this website like you did last time. I'd be happy to make the connection for you and have someone call you to discuss exactly what you are interested in doing in regards to advocacy work. There are all levels of involvement and you should get the information about it all so you can decide what it is you will be most comfortable doing.

I am glad that you are interested in doing more to help enhance awareness about pain in various constituencies, from medical doctors to people in pain and the people who care about them.

Take care,

Denise

dave

6/ 4/10 4:08pm

The National Pain Care Policy Act will do all too little to help people with pain..It doesnt require doctors to heave education in pain care, it doesnt require NIH to make major changes in funding for better pain research and to have IOM convene on pain -wwill in 1985 they said pain was a major health issue and 24 years later the President of the American Cancer Society indicated we have a national health crises related to pain care. The National Pain Care Policy Act doesnt enforce standards of pain care nor create a pain patients bill of rights with regard to pain. The NPCPA continues a longstanding tradition to allow the health care industry to do as they see fit with regard to people suffering pain. It doesnt challenge the laissez faire orientation that health care has towards people suffering pain. Perhaps if the federal government were to first consider the needs of the public instead of the wishes of the health care industry then there might be substantive progress in pain care. Instead there is a continuing escalation of failure as the inhumane neglect of people with pain continues.

Pain Act Passes House

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