Don’t delay call your Senator today! Urge them to co-sponsor the National Pain Care Policy Act! This is an opportune time, while they are in their home state!

See the talking points and CALL NOW!

Dear APF members,

You previously received an announcement that the House has passed the National Pain Care Policy Act of 2009, H.R. 756! Your hard work and dedication towards the improvement of pain care is appreciated and American Pain Foundation (APF) thanks you. However, while we celebrate the passage of H.R. 756, we still have much more work to do in the Senate. 

If you haven’t responded to the ‘Take Action Now Request’ to submit a letter to your Senator urging their co-sponsorship of the Senate bill, S. 660, PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW! It will just take a minute of your time. We need your Senators to co-sponsor S. 660! Your Senator’s co-sponsorship will help to pass S. 660 through the HELP Committee and onto a full vote with greater support. 

NEW ACTION REQUEST

CALL your Senator while they are in their home state! You can help get this bill passed! Your Senators will work from their state offices from April 6th to 17th. APF is asking that you call your Senators while they are at their state offices and encourage them to co-sponsor S. 660. Now is the time to talk with them about the fact that millions of people are suffering from pain because of a lack of proper pain management and S. 660 is designed to address the tremendous barriers to access to pain care and improve pain management. If you are not sure how to get your Senator’s contact information, click here and type in your zip code to retrieve your Senators’ contact information.

Please see the Bill Summary for S. 660 and the National Pain Care Policy Act talking points in tackling barriers to pain management. These documents are excellent tools to help shape your conversations with your Senators. Remember short and to the point is most effective!

If you live in Wyoming, New Hampshire, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Utah, Alaska, Oklahoma, and Kansas; your states have very influential Senators that are members of the HELP Committee. The HELP Committee is the first step towards moving the bill through the Senate. It is critical that S. 660 wins the support of Senators that are members of the HELP Committee, as well as to gain bipartisan support.

We recognize that some of you have experience contacting legislators and others of you are new to this work and may need some additional guidance. Please review the links below, as they provide valuable advice for communicating with your Senator:

1. The Legislative Advocacy section of the APF Action Manual provides useful tips to prepare for and guide your conversations with your Senators.
2. A helpful tool to keep your message focused is the Key Messages for Pain Care Advocacy.
3. Tips for Meeting with Lawmakers, by Cindy Steinberg, Massachusetts Power Over Pain Action Network leader provides a concise guide.

We know that this is a busy time for everyone and we appreciate all of your efforts. 

We will get this bill passed into law in 2009! APF would like to know the highlights of your calls, please email us at advocacy@painfoundation.org.