Bill > HR4509

This bill, known as the "NOPAIN for Veterans Act," aims to improve pain management for veterans by requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include certain non-opioid pain medications in its national formulary. Specifically, the bill defines "non-opioid pain management drug or biological product" as a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that can reduce postoperative pain or provide regional analgesia without acting on opioid receptors. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must add such medications to the national formulary within one year of their becoming eligible for temporary additional payment or separate payment under Medicare regulations, and must also include these drugs in the VA's drug standardization list. The bill notably specifies that funds from the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund cannot be used to implement these changes, and requires the VA to implement these amendments within 90 days of the bill's enactment. The overall goal appears to be providing veterans with alternative pain management options that do not rely on potentially addictive opioid medications, thereby offering safer and more diverse treatment approaches for pain management.

Health and Social Services, Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4509/all-info