NOPAIN for Veterans Act

Key Points

• The bill requires the VA to add FDA-approved non-opioid pain medications to its national formulary, the official list of drugs that VA facilities must cover. These are treatments that manage pain after surgery or for sudden injuries without using addictive opioid chemicals.
• The VA must add these drugs within 18 months of FDA approval or within one year of them becoming eligible for certain Medicare payments, whichever comes first. This creates a clear deadline so new non-opioid options are not stuck in bureaucratic delays.
• Non-opioid pain management drugs are defined as those approved by the FDA that reduce postoperative pain, produce postsurgical or regional analgesia, or treat acute pain, all without acting on the body's opioid receptors.
• The VA must begin implementing these changes within 90 days of the bill becoming law. Importantly, funds from the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund cannot be used to pay for these medications, protecting money set aside for toxic exposure care.
• The bill has strong bipartisan support with 18 co-sponsors from both parties, including Senators Capito, Shaheen, Cramer, Gillibrand, Klobuchar, and others. It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.