Scott joins Capito, Shaheen, Colleagues in Introducing NOPAIN for Veterans Act

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) yesterday in introducing the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) for Veterans Act. The legislation would expand veteran access to non-opioid alternatives by providing pathways for FDA-approved non-opioid treatments to be included in the VA National Formulary (VANF), the list of available prescriptions at VA facilities.

“Our veterans risk everything to defend our freedoms, and they have earned nothing less than the best care possible,” said Senator Scott. “The U.S. has safe, effective alternatives to opioids for managing acute pain, and the NOPAIN for Veterans Act helps maximize veterans’ access to these non-opioid treatments. I supported similar reforms for Medicare patients, and now I’m proud to join the effort to ensure every veteran in South Carolina and across the nation has more options to manage pain and reduce unnecessary opioid use that too often destroys lives.”

“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.”

“In New Hampshire, we’re finally seeing the tide turn on the opioid epidemic through declining overdose deaths, and that progress has been fueled in part by policies that encourage doctors to prescribe alternatives to opioids for patients struggling with pain management,” Senator Shaheen said. “Last year, CMS implemented the legislation Senator Capito and I got signed into law that encourages use of non-opioid treatments for Medicare patients struggling with pain management – and our veterans deserve equal access to these non-opioid treatment options. This bipartisan legislation would advance veteran health care by maximizing access to safe, effective FDA-approved non-opioid alternatives and furthering efforts to tackle the opioid epidemic.”

The legislation is also co-sponsored by U.S. Senators 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.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

ENDORSEMENTS

• Disabled American Veterans (DAV)
• Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)
• The American Legion
• Vietnam Veterans of America
• Voices for Non-Opioid Choices

BACKGROUND

Veterans are twice as likely to die from opioid overdose than civilians as more than one in 10 veterans experience substance abuse, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Federal expenditures for care in VA and non-VA communities exceed $1 billion annually, and South Carolina state departments have received upwards of $20 million in recent years in state opioid response (SOR) grants to address civilian and veteran substance abuse.

Despite the existence of safe and effective, FDA-approved non-opioid alternatives for postoperative and acute pain, legislation is needed to ensure that veterans have access to them through the VANF.

In late 2022, the NOPAIN Act was signed into law to expand Medicare enrollee access to non-opioid alternatives for postoperative pain. The legislation introduced today would similarly expand veteran access to non-opioid alternatives within the VA system by providing pathways for FDA-approved non-opioid treatments to be included in the VANF and available for prescribing at all VA facilities, reversing incentives for veterans to be prescribed opioids.

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