The U.S. Pain Foundation Applauds Capito’s Leadership and Support for Millions of Americans LIving with Chronic Pain

United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) continues her crusade against the twin epidemics of chronic pain and substance use disorder by calling for a more comprehensive and improved understanding of pain management. Speaking directly to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in an official letter, she asks for the wide dissemination of the  “HHS Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force Report” (PMTF Report) to our nation’s frontline practitioners. This congressionally mandated and widely endorsed report completed in 2019 recommends an individualized, multidisciplinary treatment approach as current best practice pain care.

Senator Capito’s actions were in part driven by U.S. Pain’s Virtual Advocacy Day on October 28, 2021, where the theme was #PainCareNow demanding that now is the time  to address the urgent needs of the millions living with debilitating pain.

Capito’s letter to HHS Sec. Becerra, which can be read in full here, addresses the critical need to provide the report and supporting materials such as summaries, graphics and pocket guides to the physicians and clinicians treating people living with chronic pain. “I continue to hear from constituents who are unable to access appropriate treatment for chronic pain,” Capito states in her letter, urging HHS Sec Becerra to immediately disseminate the report. It is imperative that physicians understand the full range of treatment options available to those dealing acute or chronic pain.

“Our hats are off to Senator Capito for her leadership in recognizing the necessity of immediate and wide dissemination of this report.”  said Cindy Steinberg, National Director of Policy & Advocacy who served on the federally appointed panel. “It has been widely documented that U.S. physicians receive minimal coursework in medical school in pain medicine despite the fact that the CDC has documented that there are 50 million Americans living with chronic pain. Frontline physicians are largely unaware of the many options for managing pain discussed in depth in the report. With Senator Capito’s urging and many others, we hope HHS Secretary Becerra will take action on this request as it is a critical step in moving towards our goal of improving pain care for millions of Americans.”

Please join us in thanking Senator Capito and urging Secretary Becerra to take action by resharing the U.S. Pain Foundation’s social media posts via Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn OR by creating your own posts.  Be sure to tag @SenCapito, @XavierBecerra @SecBecerra and @US_Pain with the hashtag #paincarenow, #painawareness.