Pain Care Policy Act of 2005 House Bill 1020

[Guest guest]

Jerry,

I immediately thought of you when this crossed my desk today. Partners in

Pain, a consortium of more than 75 organizations with an interest in pain issues

came to gather to increase the strength of their voice to put pain at the

top of the national health care agenda.

The American Chronic Pain Association is coordinating a nationwide " Visit to

the Hill " on September 14, 2005. The purpose of this is for individuals with

chronic pain to meet one on one with their State Representative in the House

of Representative in Washington, DC to discuss the importance of passing HR

1020, Pain Care Policy Act of 2005.

It is important to mention that September is National Pain Awareness Month.

Something else that many persons are not aware of is that we are halfway

through one of the most important decades in history. HR 3244, which was passed

in

October 2000, declared the ten calendar years beginning on January 1, 2001,

to be the Decade of Pain Control and Research. This is the second named

decade in history, the first was the Decade of the Brain in the 1990s.

To participate in the important historical day it is not necessary to have

experience with lobbying, nor is it necessary to know the HR 1020 by memory.

You can take two copies of the proposed Bill with you, one for the

Representative to look at as you read the one in your hand to him/her. The most

important part of your visit is to tell your story, why you have pain, how it

has

impacted your life and the trickle effect on the lives around you.

There is an excellent resource available to assist you in making an

appointment, what to say, a sample thank you letter to write after the visit,

copy of

the Bill (short and long version), and more. If you cannot make it to DC,

there is information on how you can get involved on the state level. Please

visit:

_http://www.theacpa.org/documents/Visit%20to%20the%20Hill%20Package%20FINAL.pd

f_

(http://www.theacpa.org/documents/Visit%20to%20the%20Hill%20Package%20FINAL.pdf)

I am curious do we have any members in the DC area?

Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

Indianapolis, Indiana