Health Care Reform Helps Americans with Chronic Pain

03/25/2010

Recent health care reform has eliminated price barriers faced by consumers with pre-existing conditions.

It may also serve to benefit people with chronic pain, according to a recent release by the American Academy of Pain Medicine. The organization pointed to Section 4305 in the legislation, which provides funding to increase education and establish action plans for research about the condition.

"This legislation provides the necessary components for physicians to help our patients who are living with compromised lifestyles because of the chronic pain they face each day," said Perry Fine, president-elect of AAPM.

Health care reform, which was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday and later signed by President Barack Obama, would also identify barriers and support medical training to better treat chronic pain. The AAPM recently documented the need for such efforts in a position paper released last fall.

40% of Americans experience daily pain, according to the paper, with more than 50 million people suffering chronically. The AAMP called for health care providers to close the gap between the existing state of care and the potential it could reach.

Starting in 2014, the health care reform bill will prohibit insurers from charging higher health insurance quotes for people with poor health.

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