Dear Members of Congress,
I would like you to maintain and expand federal investment in chronic pain research, include a dedicated earmark for the NIH HEAL Initiative in FY2026, and protect the research already reducing suffering and saving lives.
Chronic pain is the leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S. It affects over 51 million adults (one in four), and 20 million experience high-impact pain that severely disrupts daily life. But it doesn’t begin in adulthood. One in five children and teens lives with chronic pain that interferes with school, friendships, and physical activity. Up to 30% of young adults report living with chronic pain. Among older adults, pain is a significant contributor to the loss of independence and quality of life. Each year, over 13 million new adult cases of chronic pain are diagnosed. At this rate, we’ll see 130 million new cases in the next decade.
Until 2018, pain research received less than 1% of the NIH budget, even though pain affects more Americans than cancer, heart disease, and diabetes combined. That changed when Congress launched the NIH HEAL Initiative. Since then, HEAL has invested nearly $4 billion into over 2,200 research projects. The results are transforming lives. We’ve seen that combining physical therapy with antidepressants significantly improves function. Behavioral treatments reduce pain and opioid use, even in people on dialysis. Tools are being developed to predict who will develop chronic pain after surgery so we can prevent it. Programs are bringing integrated care to veterans, rural communities, and people with addiction. These aren’t just theories. They’re lifelines.
I know because I’m one of the people who’s benefited. I served 23 years in the U.S. Air Force before being medically retired due to intractable pain following cancer treatment. I’ve since lived with chronic back, hip, groin, and abdominal pain for 37 years, along with skin cancer, bladder cancer, multiple heart attacks, diabetes, arthritis, PTSD, neuropathy, and an unstable spine. At one point, I was told I’d never be effective again—not as a leader, a worker, or someone with value. But federally funded research gave me the tools to manage my pain, reclaim purpose, and help others. Today, I lead chronic pain support groups, advise researchers, and advocate for people living with pain across the country.
If pain research is underfunded or cut, clinical trials will be halted. Promising treatments will be shelved. Millions will be pushed back into outdated care that too often relies on medications alone. And people will die—some from addiction, some from despair, and many more from being invisible in a system that has no answers.
We are not asking for luxury. We are asking for the tools to survive, contribute, and live with dignity.
Congress, please: fund the future of pain care. Protect the HEAL Initiative. Protect us.
Tom Norris
Joseph Thomas Norris, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force (Retired)
Chronic Pain Survivor, Patient Advocate, BCPA