Senate Concurrent Resolution 674

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING SEPTEMBER 2012 AS "PAIN AWARENESS MONTH IN MISSISSIPPI" TO BRING AWARENESS FOR PEOPLE IN PAIN.

WHEREAS, in the United States over 100 million adults suffer from chronic pain, including millions with debilitating conditions like chronic lower back pain, fibromyalgia and arthritis; and

WHEREAS, approximately 767,519 people lived in a state of chronic pain in 2009 in Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, chronic pain costs America up to $635 Billion a year in added health costs and lost productivity, including billions of dollars in state Medicaid costs; and

WHEREAS, chronic pain is a major public health problem and hidden driver of rising health care costs; and

WHEREAS, significant barriers to adequate pain care exist and millions of Americans get inadequate pain care; and

WHEREAS, system and organizational barriers, many of them driven by current insurance reimbursement policies, obstruct patient-centered care:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize September 2012 as "Pain Awareness Month in Mississippi," and encourage all citizens to support organizations in search for adequate pain care for Mississippians.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be transmitted to the State Board of Health for proper distribution, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.