The U.S. Pain Foundation is encouraging its pain warriors to comment—They need to know what you think by Friday.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has opened a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit input into the development of an Action Plan on the opioid crisis and the treatment of acute and chronic pain, as mandated in the SUPPORT Act.

Comments should be submitted electronically to PainandSUDTreatment@cms.hhs.gov by 5 pm EST on Oct. 11.

Even if you are not on Medicare or Medicaid, keep in mind that CMS’s policies are highly influential and can lead the way for changes to private insurance, said Cindy Steinberg, who runs Policy & Advocacy for the U.S. Pain Foundation. “I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to speak up about pain at the federal level.”

The National Pain Report hopes you do!

Questions on Acute and Chronic Pain:

1. What actions can CMS take to enhance access to appropriate care for acute and/or chronic pain in Medicare and Medicaid, including

a. For special populations (for example, individuals with sickle cell anemia or individuals living in health professional shortage areas) and/or

b. Through remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and other telecommunications technologies?

2. What, if any, payment and coverage policies under Medicare and/or Medicaid for the treatment of acute and/or chronic pain, do you believe, may have contributed to the use of opioids? If answering this question, please provide information on how these policies have contributed.

3. What, if any, payment and coverage policies in Medicare and/or Medicaid have enhanced or impeded access to non-opioid treatment of acute and/or chronic pain?

4. What evidence-based treatments, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved evidence-based medical devices, applications, and/or services and items for the following conditions are not covered, or have limited coverage for Medicare beneficiaries with

a. Acute and/or chronic pain;

b. Pain and behavioral health needs requiring integrated care across pain management and substance use disorder (SUDs), with consideration of high-risk patients (i.e. multiple medications, suicide risk)?

5. What payment and service delivery models, such as those that utilize multimodal and multi-disciplinary approaches to effectively manage acute and chronic pain and minimize the risk of opioid misuse and OUD, could be tested by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation or through other federal demonstration projects?

a. What existing models, treatments or strategies identify and effectively manage the population of individuals misusing prescription opioids or using illicit opioids who then develop new or exacerbating pain?

6. What can CMS do to better ensure appropriate care management for Medicare beneficiaries with pain who transition across settings, and/or between pain therapies?

7. How can Medicare and Medicaid data collection for acute and chronic pain better support coverage, payment, treatment, access policies, and ongoing monitoring?

8. What other issues should CMS consider improving coverage and payment policies in Medicare and Medicaid to enhance access to and effective management of beneficiaries with acute and/or chronic pain?

We hope you participate to expand the voice of the chronic pain community.

Let us know what you told the Feds.

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