Advancing Research for Chronic Pain Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Advancing Research for Chronic Pain Act of 2026”.

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:

“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.”.