Bill > S3209

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 non-opioid pain management drugs in its national formulary (the list of medications covered by the VA). The bill defines non-opioid pain management drugs as FDA-approved medications that reduce postoperative pain or treat acute pain without acting on opioid receptors. Specifically, the VA must add these drugs to its formulary within either one year of the drug becoming eligible for additional payment under Medicare regulations or 18 months after FDA approval, whichever comes first. The bill includes a technical provision specifying that funds from the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund cannot be used to implement these changes, and it requires the VA to implement these amendments within 90 days of the bill's enactment. The goal of this legislation is to provide veterans with alternative pain management options that do not carry the risk of opioid addiction, thereby addressing a critical health concern for military service members.

Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3209/all-info