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National Pain Care Policy Act of 2008

Date: Sept. 23, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care


NATIONAL PAIN CARE POLICY ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 23, 2008)

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2994, the National Pain Care Policy Act of 2007, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to pain care. All of us have probably experienced pain resulting from an illness or disease in our lives. Some people are fortunate enough to be able to access drugs and other treatments to relieve pain and suffering.

However, millions are not able to obtain that relief and suffer from acute pain. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that one in every four Americans has suffered from pain that lasts longer than 24 hours. Pain can impact every aspect of our daily lives, from an inability to work, to being unable to spend time with family and friends.

This bill would do much to help us better manage pain. H.R. 2994 would encourage the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine to convene a conference on pain, encourage the Director of the National Institutes of Health to expand a research program on the causes of and potential treatment for pain, establish an interagency pain research coordinating committee within HHS, allow the HHS Secretary to award grants to public and private entities for the development of programs to provide education and training to health care professionals in pain care, and require the HHS Secretary to establish and implement a national pain care education outreach and awareness campaign.

Pain is the leading reason Americans come into contact with the health care system, and it's also a huge contributor to the growing costs of health care. We must do a better job of helping to alleviate that suffering, and I believe this bill would go a long way towards achieving that end.

I want to thank my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee, particularly Congresswoman Capps and Congressman Rogers, for their leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for adoption of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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