HYDE-SMITH SUPPORTS BILL TO OFFER VETERANS NON-OPIOID ALTERNATIVES
Cosponsors ‘NOPAIN for Veterans Act’ to Provide Pain Management Treatments Already Offered to Medicare Enrollees
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) on Monday cosponsored legislation to direct the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to give veterans greater access to non-opioid alternatives.
The Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) for Veterans Act (S.3209) would expand access for veterans by directing the VA to include FDA-approved non-opioid treatments in the VA National Formulary (VANF). The NOPAIN for Veterans Act would help put veterans on par with the care offered today to Medicare beneficiaries.
“It’s important that veterans have access to more pain treatment options beyond being prescribed opioids, which too often lead to misuse, addiction, and loss of life. The NOPAIN for Veterans Act would allow veterans to use proven non-opioid alternatives, which is why I support it wholeheartedly,” Senator Hyde-Smith said.
S.3209 was introduced by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who has worked to expand access to non-opioid alternatives in response to the recent opioid overdose epidemic.
“Our veterans deserve the very best care we can provide, including safe and effective options to manage pain without exposing them to unnecessary risk,” Senator Capito said. “By ensuring FDA-approved non-opioid treatments are included on the VA National Formulary, our legislation will make these alternatives easier to prescribe and easier for veterans to access.”
S.3209 would build on the NOPAIN Act passed by Congress in 2022, which expanded Medicare enrollee access to non-opioid alternatives for postoperative pain. While TRICARE traditionally follows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policies on these matters, the VA has not taken similar action to expand access to non-opioid treatments through the VANF.
The VANF lists clinically reviewed products available for prescribing at all VA facilities, but any products or treatments not included on that formulary cannot be used without going through a “non-formulary request process.”
Additional NOPAIN for Veterans Act cosponsors include U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
The bipartisan measure, which has been referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, is endorsed by the Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, The American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, and Voices for Non-Opioid Choices.
###