SLS 13RS-2434 ORIGINAL Page 1 of 2 Regular Session, 2013 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 123 BY SENATOR HEITMEIER SENATE. Declares the month of September 2013 as "Pain Awareness Month" in Louisiana. A RESOLUTION1 To declare the month of September 2013 as "Pain Awareness Month" in Louisiana.2 WHEREAS, in the United States over one hundred million adults suffer from chronic3 pain, including millions of adults with debilitating conditions like chronic lower back pain,4 fibromyalgia, and arthritis; and5 WHEREAS, the suffering of chronic pain by adults in this country costs this nation6 up to six hundred thirty-five billion dollars a year in added expenses and lost productivity,7 including billions of dollars in state Medicaid expenditures; and8 WHEREAS, chronic pain is a major public health problem and a hidden driver of9 rising healthcare costs; and10 WHEREAS, significant barriers to adequate pain care exist, and millions of11 Americans are at risk of receiving inadequate pain care; and12 WHEREAS, system and organizational barriers, many of them driven by current13 insurance reimbursement policies, may obstruct patient-centered care.14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana15 does hereby declare the month of September 2013 as "Pain Awareness Month" in Louisiana.16 SR NO. 123 SLS 13RS-2434 ORIGINAL Page 2 of 2 The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Dozier O'Brien. DIGEST Heitmeier SR No. 123 Declares the month of September 2013 as "Pain Awareness Month" in Louisiana.