110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2994 
AN ACT 
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to 
pain care. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘National Pain Care Policy Act of 2008’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Institute of Medicine Conference on Pain. 
Sec. 3. Pain research at National Institutes of Health. 
Sec. 4. Pain care education and training. 
Sec. 5. Public awareness campaign on pain management. 
SEC. 2. INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE CONFERENCE ON PAIN. 
(a) CONVENING.—Not later than June 30, 2009, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall seek to 
enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine of 
the National Academies to convene a Conference on Pain 
(in this section referred to as ‘‘the Conference’’). 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Conference 
shall be to— 
(1) increase the recognition of pain as a signifi-
cant public health problem in the United States; 
(2) evaluate the adequacy of assessment, diag-
nosis, treatment, and management of acute and 
chronic pain in the general population, and in identi-
fied racial, ethnic, gender, age, and other demo-
graphic groups that may be disproportionately af-
fected by inadequacies in the assessment, diagnosis, 
treatment, and management of pain;
(3) identify barriers to appropriate pain care, 
including— 
(A) lack of understanding and education 
among employers, patients, health care pro-
viders, regulators, and third-party payors; 
(B) barriers to access to care at the pri-
mary, specialty, and tertiary care levels, includ-
ing barriers— 
(i) specific to those populations that 
are disproportionately undertreated for 
pain; 
(ii) related to physician concerns over 
regulatory and law enforcement policies 
applicable to some pain therapies; and 
(iii) attributable to benefit, coverage, 
and payment policies in both the public 
and private sectors; and 
(C) gaps in basic and clinical research on 
the symptoms and causes of pain, and potential 
assessment methods and new treatments to im-
prove pain care; and 
(4) establish an agenda for action in both the 
public and private sectors that will reduce such bar-
riers and significantly improve the state of pain care
research, education, and clinical care in the United 
States. 
(c) OTHER APPROPRIATE ENTITY.—If the Institute 
of Medicine declines to enter into an agreement under sub-
section (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
may enter into such agreement with another appropriate 
entity. 
(d) REPORT.—A report summarizing the Con-
ference’s findings and recommendations shall be sub-
mitted to the Congress not later than June 30, 2010. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 
purpose of carrying out this section, there is authorized 
to be appropriated $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 
and 2010. 
SEC. 3. PAIN RESEARCH AT NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF 
HEALTH. 
Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 409J. PAIN RESEARCH. 
‘‘(a) RESEARCH INITIATIVES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of NIH is en-
couraged to continue and expand, through the Pain 
Consortium, an aggressive program of basic and
clinical research on the causes of and potential treat-
ments for pain. 
‘‘(2) ANNUAL
RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not less 
than annually, the Pain Consortium, in consultation 
with the Division of Program Coordination, Plan-
ning, and Strategic Initiatives, shall develop and 
submit to the Director of NIH recommendations on 
appropriate pain research initiatives that could be 
undertaken with funds reserved under section 
402A(c)(1) for the Common Fund or otherwise 
available for such initiatives. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘Pain Consortium’ means the Pain Consortium of 
the National Institutes of Health or a similar trans- 
National Institutes of Health coordinating entity 
designated by the Secretary for purposes of this sub-
section. 
‘‘(b) INTERAGENCY PAIN RESEARCH COORDINATING 
COMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this section and as necessary maintain 
a committee, to be known as the Interagency Pain 
Research Coordinating Committee (in this section 
referred to as the ‘Committee’), to coordinate all ef-
forts within the Department of Health and Human 
Services and other Federal agencies that relate to 
pain research. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 
be composed of the following voting members: 
‘‘(i) Not more than 7 voting Federal 
representatives as follows: 
‘‘(I) The Director of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention. 
‘‘(II) The Director of the Na-
tional Institutes of Health and the di-
rectors of such national research insti-
tutes and national centers as the Sec-
retary determines appropriate. 
‘‘(III) The heads of such other 
agencies of the Department of Health 
and Human Services as the Secretary 
determines appropriate. 
‘‘(IV) Representatives of other 
Federal agencies that conduct or sup-
port pain care research and treat-
ment, including the Department of 
Defense and the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs.
‘‘(ii) 12 additional voting members ap-
pointed under subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The Com-
mittee shall include additional voting members 
appointed by the Secretary as follows: 
‘‘(i) 6 members shall be appointed 
from among scientists, physicians, and 
other health professionals, who— 
‘‘(I) are not officers or employees 
of the United States; 
‘‘(II) 
represent 
multiple 
dis-
ciplines, including clinical, basic, and 
public health sciences; 
‘‘(III) represent different geo-
graphical 
regions 
of 
the 
United 
States; and 
‘‘(IV) are from practice settings, 
academia, manufacturers or other re-
search settings; and 
‘‘(ii) 6 members shall be appointed 
from members of the general public, who 
are representatives of leading research, ad-
vocacy, and service organizations for indi-
viduals with pain-related conditions
‘‘(C) NONVOTING
MEMBERS.—The Com-
mittee shall include such nonvoting members as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The voting members of 
the Committee shall select a chairperson from 
among such members. The selection of a chairperson 
shall be subject to the approval of the Director of 
NIH. 
‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet at 
the call of the chairperson of the Committee or upon 
the request of the Director of NIH, but in no case 
less often than once each year. 
‘‘(5) DUTIES.—The Committee shall— 
‘‘(A) develop a summary of advances in 
pain care research supported or conducted by 
the Federal agencies relevant to the diagnosis, 
prevention, and treatment of pain and diseases 
and disorders associated with pain; 
‘‘(B) identify critical gaps in basic and 
clinical research on the symptoms and causes of 
pain; 
‘‘(C) make recommendations to ensure that 
the activities of the National Institutes of 
Health and other Federal agencies, including 
the Department of Defense and the Department
of Veteran Affairs, are free of unnecessary du-
plication of effort; 
‘‘(D) make recommendations on how best 
to disseminate information on pain care; and 
‘‘(E) make recommendations on how to ex-
pand partnerships between public entities, in-
cluding Federal agencies, and private entities to 
expand collaborative, cross-cutting research. 
‘‘(6) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review the 
necessity of the Committee at least once every 2 
years.’’. 
SEC. 4. PAIN CARE EDUCATION AND TRAINING. 
(a) PAIN CARE EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—Part D 
of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
294 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 754 through 758 
as sections 755 through 759, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after section 753 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 754. PROGRAM FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN 
PAIN CARE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make awards 
of grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to health 
professions schools, hospices, and other public and private 
entities for the development and implementation of pro-
grams to provide education and training to health care 
professionals in pain care. 
‘‘(b) PRIORITIES.—In making awards under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall give priority to awards for 
the implementation of programs under such subsection. 
‘‘(c) CERTAIN TOPICS.—An award may be made 
under subsection (a) only if the applicant for the award 
agrees that the program carried out with the award will 
include information and education on— 
‘‘(1) recognized means for assessing, diag-
nosing, treating, and managing pain and related 
signs and symptoms, including the medically appro-
priate use of controlled substances; 
‘‘(2) applicable laws, regulations, rules, and 
policies on controlled substances, including the de-
gree to which misconceptions and concerns regarding 
such laws, regulations, rules, and policies, or the en-
forcement thereof, may create barriers to patient ac-
cess to appropriate and effective pain care; 
‘‘(3) interdisciplinary approaches to the delivery 
of pain care, including delivery through specialized 
centers providing comprehensive pain care treatment 
expertise;
‘‘(4) cultural, linguistic, literacy, geographic, 
and other barriers to care in underserved popu-
lations; and 
‘‘(5) recent findings, developments, and im-
provements in the provision of pain care. 
‘‘(d) PROGRAM
SITES.—Education and training 
under subsection (a) may be provided at or through health 
professions schools, residency training programs, and 
other graduate programs in the health professions; entities 
that provide continuing education in medicine, pain man-
agement, dentistry, psychology, social work, nursing, and 
pharmacy; hospices; and such other programs or sites as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(e) EVALUATION
OF PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 
shall (directly or through grants or contracts) provide for 
the evaluation of programs implemented under subsection 
(a) in order to determine the effect of such programs on 
knowledge and practice of pain care. 
‘‘(f) PEER REVIEW GROUPS.—In carrying out section 
799(f) with respect to this section, the Secretary shall en-
sure that the membership of each peer review group in-
volved includes individuals with expertise and experience 
in pain care. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section the 
term ‘pain care’ means the assessment, diagnosis, treat-
ment, or management of acute or chronic pain regardless 
of causation or body location.’’. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
758(b)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (as redesig-
nated by subsection (a)(1) of this section) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (B); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) not less than $5,000,000 for awards 
of grants, cooperative agreements, and con-
tracts under sections 754.’’. 
(c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Title VII of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2) of section 757(b) (as re-
designated by 
subsection 
(a)(1)), 
by 
striking 
‘‘754(3)(A), and 755(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘755(3)(A), 
and 756(b)’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (C) of section 758(b)(1) 
(as redesignated by subsection (a)(1)), by striking 
‘‘754, and 755’’ and inserting ‘‘755, and 756’’.
SEC. 5. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON PAIN MANAGE-
MENT. 
Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 238 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 249. NATIONAL EDUCATION OUTREACH AND AWARE-
NESS CAMPAIGN ON PAIN MANAGEMENT. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than June 30, 
2009, the Secretary shall establish and implement a na-
tional pain care education outreach and awareness cam-
paign described in subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall design 
the public awareness campaign under this section to edu-
cate consumers, patients, their families, and other care-
givers with respect to— 
‘‘(1) the incidence and importance of pain as a 
national public health problem; 
‘‘(2) the adverse physical, psychological, emo-
tional, societal, and financial consequences that can 
result if pain is not appropriately assessed, diag-
nosed, treated, or managed; 
‘‘(3) the availability, benefits, and risks of all 
pain treatment and management options; 
‘‘(4) having pain promptly assessed, appro-
priately diagnosed, treated, and managed, and regu-
larly reassessed with treatment adjusted as needed;
‘‘(5) the role of credentialed pain management 
specialists and subspecialists, and of comprehensive 
interdisciplinary centers of treatment expertise; 
‘‘(6) the availability in the public, nonprofit, 
and private sectors of pain management-related in-
formation, services, and resources for consumers, 
employers, third-party payors, patients, their fami-
lies, and caregivers, including information on— 
‘‘(A) appropriate assessment, diagnosis, 
treatment, and management options for all 
types of pain and pain-related symptoms; and 
‘‘(B) conditions for which no treatment op-
tions are yet recognized; and 
‘‘(7) other issues the Secretary deems appro-
priate. 
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In designing and imple-
menting the public awareness campaign required by this 
section, the Secretary shall consult with organizations rep-
resenting patients in pain and other consumers, employ-
ers, physicians including physicians specializing in pain 
care, other pain management professionals, medical device 
manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies. 
‘‘(d) COORDINATION.— 
‘‘(1) LEAD OFFICIAL.—The Secretary shall des-
ignate one official in the Department of Health and
Human Services to oversee the campaign established 
under this section. 
‘‘(2) AGENCY
COORDINATION.—The Secretary 
shall ensure the involvement in the public awareness 
campaign under this section of the Surgeon General 
of the Public Health Service, the Director of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 
such other representatives of offices and agencies of 
the Department of Health and Human Services as 
the Secretary determines appropriate. 
‘‘(e) UNDERSERVED AREAS AND POPULATIONS.—In 
designing the public awareness campaign under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) take into account the special needs of geo-
graphic areas and racial, ethnic, gender, age, and 
other demographic groups that are currently under-
served; and 
‘‘(2) provide resources that will reduce dispari-
ties in access to appropriate diagnosis, assessment, 
and treatment. 
‘‘(f) GRANTS AND CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may 
make awards of grants, cooperative agreements, and con-
tracts to public agencies and private nonprofit organiza-
tions to assist with the development and implementation 
of the public awareness campaign under this section.
‘‘(g) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than the 
end of fiscal year 2011, the Secretary shall prepare and 
submit to the Congress a report evaluating the effective-
ness of the public awareness campaign under this section 
in educating the general public with respect to the matters 
described in subsection (b). 
‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 
purposes of carrying out this section, there are authorized 
to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and 
$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 
2008. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2994 
AN ACT 
To amend the Public Health Service Act with 
respect to pain care.