NPAC In-Depth: Introducing Mara Baer: The newest member of our Science and Policy Council

Tell us about yourself, and your personal and professional background related to health and pain.

I have been working in health care for over 25 years, largely in health care policy at both the state and federal levels. My expertise is in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage policy and in navigating complex legislative and regulatory environments. I own a health consulting firm called AgoHealth, which provides policy analysis, facilitation, and strategic advisory supports for organizations navigating today’s healthcare environment.
 
On the personal side, I have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), a nerve condition that causes nerve entrapment and related pain. As a person living in pain for nearly 10 years, I wanted to bring my personal and professional experiences together to activate change for pain sufferers, so I’ve recently increased focus on chronic pain policy, advocacy, and education.

Do you want to say more about your personal journey?
 
My pain journey started in 2015 when moving to Denver with my husband and two young children. Over one year, periodic pain became constant pain in my neck and down my arm. After learning TOS was the cause, I saw many doctors and pursued various treatments including three surgeries over five years. The mental toll of this time was significant. Like many people in chronic pain, I experienced depression, anxiety, loss of hope, and even fear. While my surgeries and other treatments have not produced the intended outcomes, I’ve come to learn a great deal about the brain’s role in chronic pain and am pursuing new strategies, including pain psychology, to support a better path.
 
You recently launched a free newsletter on Substack called “Chronic Pain Chats”. Can you tell readers a bit about this and why you started it?
 
I am so excited about my newsletter! When my pain became chronic, I felt so alone and like no one close to me could understand. Most people in pain feel this way but we do not have to feel isolated. In the newsletter, I share my personal pain journey and try to unpack pain’s complexities. It’s so important to have more voices speaking about the lived pain experience and I hope in sharing my story combined with education that others will feel heard and less alone.
 
Why do you think advocacy for pain is important?
 
Because of my policy background, I was able to view my pain experience in the health system with a critic’s lens. So many challenges people in chronic pain face are due to a flawed system that does not incent holistic care and meeting people where they are. While there are some efforts afoot to change healthcare provider payments to promote value and outcomes, in general, most financial incentives in US healthcare remain focused on payment for volume. This, combined with a lack of attention to the biopsychosocial nature of pain, has left those in chronic pain lost in a system that doesn’t acknowledge pain complexities and the need for multi-modal care.  This is why advocacy is so important. Without more voices pushing for changes in how we pay for care, we will continue to see a growing crisis. And when I speak about policy, I am talking about both big “P” and little “p” policy. From national policy change to changes by employers and health insurers, we need to educate and influence decision-makers if we’re going to turn the chronic pain tide.
 
Why did you decide to join NPAC’s Science and Policy Advisory Council?
 
As I continue to build out my work in the chronic pain space, I want to engage in an organization with a chronic pain focus but one deeply driven by those with lived experience. I saw what I was looking for with NPAC and felt that my values and priorities aligned with how NPAC conducts its work. The Advisory Council is a great place for me to engage with like-minded “policy wonks” who care deeply about activating change which excites me. My hope is that my deep regulatory expertise, especially in Medicaid and in the commercial market can be a real asset to the work of the Council. I hope I can contribute in a meaningful way, and I look forward to learning a great deal from my new colleagues in the group.
 
What do you know now that you wish you would have told yourself early on in your pain experience?
 
My number one is that chronic pain is biopsychosocial. I would have said, “Mara, please do not ignore the feelings you are experiencing. They are exacerbating pain and should be an important part of care.”