CPRS/RSD is a neurological progressive syndrome that has been around since the civil war, yet we still have no cure. It causes intractable pain that is ranked higher than childbirth and cancer. Standard pain medications do not touch the burning nerve pain that patients describe as feeling like they’ve been doused with lighter fluid and set on fire. Even though this disease has been around all of these years, we still do not have a cure or even a large amount of funding going towards research like we do for diseases like Parkinson's’ or MS. We currently do have really good treatment that is relatively cheap and has been used here in the US for the past ten years and in countries like Australia and Germany even longer. The problem is that most insurance companies refuse to pay for this treatment because they consider it “experimental”.

There have been many studies done over the past decade that show that for most patients with CRPS/RSD, Ketamine is the most effective treatment. Not only is it the most effective treatment but it can save insurance companies hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency room costs and hospitalizations for pain management for out of control pain. Regular Ketamine infusions, whether done inpatient or outpatient, have been shown to keep the pain of someone with CRPS/RSD in the manageable range and thus keep their healthcare costs under control.

We the undersigned believe that Aetna Health Plan should be covering Ketamine infusions for all CPRS/RSD patients whose physicians prescribe the treatment.