Endo Blog: Pain Care Policy Act Passed UNANIMOUSLY In House Of Representatives! Let's Make Our Voices Heard To Get Congress To Follow Suit!

Sometimes chronic illness and pain are so totally overwhelming that they make us feel downright powerless and drained (emotionally, physically, and financially as well).

There are times we wish we could stop feeling so helpless and take some sort of positive action to help ourselves and the millions of others suffering chronic pain.

Here is a great opportunity to do just that!

News flash!

Thanks to Sherril Johnson of The Invisible Chronic Illness Experience blog, I just became aware of exciting legislation -- The National Pain Care Policy Act (HR 2994) -- that has passed in the House of Representatives UNANIMOUSLY!

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This national legislation is so important. What can YOU do to ensure that Congress passes this bill as well?? Good question! I'm glad you asked! :)

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Click on the link to Sherril's blog The Invisible Chronic Illness Experience. From her 9/25 post, click on "Online Advocacy Center". Then click on the "national legislation" link (middle/bottom of the screen). Now click on "take action NOW". From here, click "take action". Follow the simple, step-by-step instructions provided on this next screen to send an email to the proper representative for you and your region. (The form will figure all that out for you once you input your basic information). After reviewing the form letter provided (yes, it's all written for you to save you time!) and after inserting your contact information, just click "next step". A screen will appear informing you of who the email is being sent to (your representative in Congress). If you're ready to send your email, just click "send your message". That's it! You're done!

It took me approximately 3-4 minutes -- but that was with me flipping screens back & forth while writing these directions. So I'm guessing it will likely take you about 2-3 minutes in total. By taking just those couple of minutes to have your voice heard by Congress, you are speaking out on an issue that affects millions of people. I would imagine most, if not all, who are reading this right now are affected either directly or indirectly by pain and the often inadequate or improper treatment/management of it for so many people.

Please visit Sherril's blog The Invisible Chronic Illness Experience for much more information on this landmark legislation that can help chronic pain patients like you and me!

If you read the detailed and informative post on Sherril's site, you'll see options to read the full transcript or the summary.

If you read the summary of the bill passed by the House of Representatives, one particular category of interest to me was the one in "Section 2" that mentioned it authorizes an Institute of Medicine Conference on Pain Care to, in part:

Highlight disparities in pain care specific to populations that are disproportionately under-treated for pain.

Awhile back, I became familiar with an organization that works to close the gender gap in this area. Women's pain is undertreated when compared to men's pain. For more information and plenty of details on this topic sure to interest our many female readers, their loved ones... and also our male readers who have female loved ones of their own that may be within this undertreated group, please visit For Grace! Their motto is "Empowering Women in Pain". Their informative website has some very interesting facts and is definitely worth looking at.

Sometimes taking a moment or two to help ourselves and others can make us feel productive, boost our self-esteem, and help improve a situation that needs attention. This is an opportunity to do all of the above!

This article was posted by Jeanne via "Jeanne's Endo Blog" at www.endendoat.blogspot.com.