[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5041 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5041
To advance population research for chronic pain.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 21, 2026
Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Kim, and Mr. Daines) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To advance population research for chronic pain.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Advancing Research for Chronic Pain
Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CHRONIC PAIN INFORMATION SYSTEM.
Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 399V-8. CHRONIC PAIN RESEARCH.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Director
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Director of the
National Institutes of Health, and other agencies as the Secretary
determines appropriate, shall--
``(1) utilize available Federal research data to clarify
the incidence and prevalence of chronic pain from any source,
including injuries, operations, and diseases and conditions;
``(2) identify gaps in the available research data and
collect deidentified population research data using medical
claims and survey data to fill gaps in available research data,
such as information concerning, to the maximum extent
practicable--
``(A) incidence and prevalence of specific pain
conditions;
``(B) demographics and other information, such as
age, race, ethnicity, gender, and geographic location;
``(C) the incidence and prevalence of known chronic
pain conditions, as well as of diseases and conditions
that include or lead to pain;
``(D) risk factors that may be associated with
chronic pain conditions, such as genetic and
environmental risk factors and other information, as
appropriate;
``(E) diagnosis and progression markers;
``(F) both direct and indirect costs of illness;
``(G) the epidemiology of the conditions;
``(H) the detection, management, and treatment of
the conditions;
``(I) the epidemiology, detection, management, and
treatment of frequent secondary or co-occurring
conditions, such as depressive, anxiety, and substance
use disorders;
``(J) the utilization of medical and social
services by patients with chronic pain conditions,
including the direct health care costs of pain
treatment, both traditional and alternative, and the
indirect costs (such as missed work, public and private
disability, and reduction in productivity);
``(K) the effectiveness of evidence-based treatment
approaches on chronic pain conditions; and
``(L) the utilization, effectiveness, and outcomes
associated with non-opioid and opioid sparing treatment
approaches used in combination in a multidisciplinary,
multimodal manner for chronic pain, and the
identification of remaining research gaps in this area;
``(3) develop, in collaboration with individuals and
organizations with appropriate chronic pain expertise,
including patients or patient advocates, epidemiologists,
representatives of national voluntary health associations,
health information technology experts, clinicians, and research
scientists, recommendations for standard definitions and
approaches for population research on chronic pain to
efficiently promote greater comparability of data; and
``(4) disseminate, pursuant to the public web page under
subsection (b), and, as appropriate, to the public and to other
Federal departments and agencies, any findings, developed
population research standards, and available Federal data
sources related to chronic pain.
``(b) Dissemination.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall establish a
public web page, to be known as the Chronic Pain Information Hub,
that--
``(1) aggregates and summarizes available Federal data
sources, indicators, and peer-reviewed research related to
chronic pain;
``(2) includes an up-to-date summary of complete, underway,
and planned data collection and analysis related to chronic
pain that is conducted and supported by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention; and
``(3) translates research findings into clinical tools and
resources, recommendations for closing research gaps, and
recommendations for population research standards for
researchers, with recommendations updated annually to
incorporate research findings from the prior year.
``(c) Conflicts of Interest.--If an individual or organization that
collaborates with the Secretary in carrying out subsection (a) receives
a payment or other transfer of value of a type described in section
1128G(a)(1)(A)(vi) of the Social Security Act from a manufacturer of a
drug (including a biological product) or device that would be required
to be disclosed pursuant to section 1128G(a)(1) of the Social Security
Act, if the individual or organization were a covered recipient or if
such disclosure were required upon request of or by designation on
behalf of a covered recipient pursuant to such section, the individual
or organization shall disclose to the Secretary information regarding
such payment or other transfer of value. The Secretary shall make such
disclosures publicly available.
``(d) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of the Advancing Research for Chronic Pain Act of 2026, the
Secretary shall submit a report to Congress concerning the
implementation of this section. Such report shall include information
on--
``(1) the development and maintenance of the Chronic Pain
Information Hub;
``(2) the information made available through the Chronic
Pain Information Hub;
``(3) the data gaps identified, and planned efforts to
address such gaps;
``(4) the process established for soliciting feedback from
collaborators; and
``(5) feedback received from collaborators.
``(e) Definition.--In this section, the term `chronic pain' means
persistent or recurrent pain lasting longer than 3 months.
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary
for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.''.
<all>