Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI) introduced H.R. 1863, the National Pain Care Policy Act of 2003 in the House of Representatives on May 29, 2003. For patients with pain care issues, this is one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever to be introduced in the House.
This critical piece of legislation is a response to the Decade of Pain Research declared by Congress, which began January 1, 2001. The goal of the bill is the too-long-awaited federal recognition of pain as a critical health care crisis in the United States - a crisis that costs the U.S. economy in excess of $80.1
Once passed, the National Pain Care Policy Act (NPCPA) would:
- Establish a White House Conference on Pain
Care for the purpose of:
- increasing public awareness of pain as a significant health problem
- assessing the adequacy of pain care diagnosis and treatment
- identifying barriers to appropriate pain care.
- authorize a National Center for Pain and Palliative Care Research within the National Institutes of Health
- establish a pain and palliative care research and quality program within the Agency for Health Care Quality & Research. The program's function would include the collection and distribution of protocols and evidence-based practices for pain and palliative care
- require health care providers within the military's TRICARE health care system to provide appropriate pain care services
- guarantee that America's servicemen and women and veterans receive appropriate pain care services at a health care facilities of the Department of Defense or Veterans Administration
- authorize a public awareness campaign implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services to better educate patients, families, and other caregivers
Call To Action:
This is the perfect time to remember that our government is
government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." In other words,
we elected our Congressmen and Senators, so it's time to start writing to them,
impressing upon them the importance of H.R. 1863, the National Pain Care Policy
Act of 2003, and letting them know that the people who elected them want to see
it passed - soon. According to the Congressional record, the NPCPA has
been "referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the
Committees on Ways and Means, Armed Services, and Veterans' Affairs, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned." Our members of the House need to also be encouraged to
speak with the members of those committees, urging them to quickly return the
bill to the floor for a vote. After we contact our members of the House, it's
time to move on to our Senators to let them know that this critical bill is in
House committees. Urge them to network with their colleagues in the house to get
the bill passed and sent to the Senate. Let them know that we need and expect
them to pass this bill as quickly as possible, too. Below are links to
information to help in our quest:
- How to contact our members of the House and our Senators
- Sample letter
- Full text of H.R. 1863, The National Pain Care Policy Act of 2003
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Resources:
1 The American Pain Foundation
