July/August 2026

• NPAC submitted a formal comment on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) proposed implementation of the Medicaid Community Engagement Requirement (CMS-2454-IFC), and also supported USASP in submitting a comment on the work requirements. 

• NPAC participated as an organizational member in a meeting of the Disability Economic Justice Research Forum. 

• NPAC’s Executive Director participated in a Board Meeting for the NIH PURPOSE project to plan an upcoming day-long training seminar.

• NPAC’s Executive Director and NPAC members living with pain met with members of the Senate Appropriations Committee FY 2027 Appropriations for scientific research for pain. We encouraged the Senate to include language delaying implementation of the proposed rule of the Office of Management and Budget making sweeping changes to federal grant making.

• NPAC’s Executive Director spearheaded submission of accepted symposiums and innovation stage presentations for the upcoming World Congress on Pain related to advocacy, engagement of people with lived experience, and science communication. 

• NPAC’s Executive Director participated in a meeting on presentations and publications related to the International Association for the Study of Pain’s Presidential Task Force on Animal Testing.

• NPAC supported several research initiatives including, participating in a collaborative grant on children’s pain for PICORI and submitting letters of support for the Understanding and Protecting Against Suicide in Pain (UPSI) study and the Comparative Outcomes of Management Frameworks for Optimizing Recovery and Treatment of Pain (COMFORT) trial.