Voices for Non-Opioid Choices
Forwarded message
From: Voices for Non-Opioid Choices <info@nonopioidchoices.org>
Date: Mon, Nov 4, 2024, 12:25 PM
Subject: Voices November Newsletter
Monthly Newsletter
Action Opportunities this month:
Tell Congress that veterans deserve access to non-addictive treatments to manage their acute pain.
Help Medicare patients by telling your elected officials to pass the Alternatives to PAIN Act.
NOPAIN Act One Step Closer to Enactment!
On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule governing calendar year (CY) 2025 payments under the Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). This rule included important guidance on the agency’s implementation plans of the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (“NOPAIN”) Act as enacted as part of the fiscal year (2023) omnibus spending agreement signed into law in December of 2022.
The final CY2025 OPPS rule includes specific details about the legislation, including a list of products eligible for separate payment by the law, payment amounts, codes, and other important details to help providers adhere to this important legislation. The final rule included a list of 11 qualifying non-opioid products – including six drugs and five devices – that met the clinical criteria of the NOPAIN Act and will be eligible for separate payment.
Voices knows this rule – which came as a result of the enactment of the NOPAIN Act – will bring forth unprecedented patient and provider access to non-opioids in both the hospital outpatient surgical and ambulatory surgical settings. As a result, the rule will go a long way towards preventing opioid addiction that may occur after exposure to prescription opioids following a surgical procedure.
The rule still leaves some important questions unanswered, including how the rule may treat future qualifying products and the evidentiary criteria embodied in the clinical standard of the NOPAIN Act. Voices stands ready to work with the agency to address these issues and ensure that patients and healthcare providers have robust and unfettered access to FDA-approved, safe, and effective options in a timely manner.
The View from Washington, D.C.
Check out some of the updates from the nation's capital:
October 4th: Merkley, Wyden: $9.3 million coming to NW to support opioid response programs in tribal communities...Read more here.
October 7th: Markey, Massachusetts Delegation Secure Nearly $60 Million in Federal Funding to Fight the Opioid Crisis...Read more here.
October 16th: Turner and Tonko Launch Inquiry to Ensure Access to Addiction Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder...Read more here.
What's Happening in the States?
Check out some of the stories from across the country:
Storrs, CT: UConn professors working to treat pain without opioid medication advance new 'tool' through startup...Read more here.
Winona, MN: Winona women stock Little Free Libraries with tools to prevent and reverse overdose...Read more here.
Clifton Park, NY: Clifton Park doctor focuses on alternative pain management treatments to combat addiction...Read more here.
Veterans Day
Dear Advocates:
Every November, America honors the men and women of the military, both past and present, who have bravely served to protect our country by observing Veterans Day. We do so out of respect and remembrance for the sacrifices they make for us.
This month, we call upon you, our readers, to join us in helping those in our military gain increased access to non-addictive alternatives to opioids for acute pain management.
Over the last two years, we have focused our attention on helping our veterans. As many of you may know, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, providing care to over 9 million veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare program. However, primarily because of a lack of choices, the VHA still treats opioids as the first line of defense when it comes to alleviating post-surgical pain at the expense of equally effective, non-addictive alternatives.
Our veterans are not immune to the opioid epidemic. 2.4 million, or 12 percent, of our veterans reported having a substance use disorder in 2020, with approximately 500,000 of them opioid-related. Additionally, nearly half of combat-wounded veterans report misuse of prescription opioids.
This must stop. We want doctors who work at military facilities and anywhere veterans, retirees, and their families seek care to be able to choose what is best for their patients—military or civilian.
But we need your help!
Let your members of Congress know that our military community, including our veterans, deserve the very best care. Click on the button below to have your voice heard!
Click Here to Tell Congress to Help Our Veterans!
Focus on Veterans
As opioid-related drug overdose deaths continue to rise in the United States, those who serve our country are not immune. We continue to work to ensure that everyone- including and especially active-duty military, retirees, veterans, and their families- have access to FDA-approved non-opioid pain management options.
Click Here to Tell Congress to Help Our Veterans!
The Military Brief
Check out some of the military news from across the country:
Your Basin: West Texas VA takes aim at unused medications and prescription opioids... Read more here.
U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs: Montana VA Offers National Drug Takeback Locations... Read more here.
Stars and Stripes: Owner of clinics convicted of bilking federal programs of $35M for giving unneeded shots to patients, including veterans and troops... Read more here.
Voices Spotlight:
Every month we highlight one of our outstanding members:
This month, we are excited to spotlight on Heroes Helping Heroes 4 Life (H3), based in San Diego, California.
H3 is a grassroots social enterprise non-profit organization that helps Veterans and 1st Responders with behavioral health, suicide prevention, and homelessness. Their mission is to serve and support these heroes & their families suffering from the silent wounds of firsthand and secondhand PTSD by offering a life-line of healing that moves them past PTSD to PTG ~ Post Traumatic Growth.
The vision of H3 is to ignite a sense of purpose, champion success, and drive measurable results to homeless veterans of the US Armed Forces and their families. Through education, targeted fundraising, and serving the community, they aim to improve the overall health and restore a sense of dignity to veterans living in unfavorable circumstances.
Voices for Non-Opioid Choices is proud to have Heroes Helping Heroes 4 Life as a member.
To learn more about Heroes Helping Heroes 4 Life, please click on this link: https://heroeshelpingheroes4life.com/
Upcoming Events:
Veterans make up about 6 percent of the U.S. adult population, and often the veteran headlines focus on negative issues like homelessness, mental health challenges, and problems finding a job.
This Veterans Day, The Hill amplifies veterans’ voices from across the country, highlighting their transitions from military life to the workplace environment, their accomplishments and struggles, and their real-life stories as a tribute to their service.
As the veteran population has been declining steadily over the years, The Hill‘s Veterans Voices show salutes the veterans across the country and will dive into these questions:
How can we better value our veterans at home and at work? What are the top challenges affecting the country’s veterans? What more can policymakers in Washington do to improve the lives of those who are or have served their country? How can the private sector and communities across the country create pathways to opportunity for veterans and their families?
LOCATION
Washington, DC, and streaming nationwide
DATE & TIME
Wednesday, November 13
7:45 AM ET Registration & Networking
8:30 AM ET Programming begins
10:30 AM ET Programming concludes
Speakers:
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ranking Member, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), Chair, House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance & Memorial Affairs
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Member, Armed Services Committee
Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), President & CEO, Military Officers Association of America
Eric Eversole, President, Hiring Our Heroes (HOH), U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Terrence Hayes, Press Secretary, Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Allison Jaslow, Former Army Captain & CEO, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
Cindy Noel, Assistant Director of Field Operations, National Veterans Service, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
Jennifer Silva, U.S Army Veteran & Chief Program Officer, Wounded Warrior Project
Raul “Danny” Vargas , Chairman, CEO & Founder, American Latino Veterans Association
Click Here To Register
Don't forget to follow us:
@nonopioidchoice on Twitter and Facebook!
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Voices for Non-Opioid Choices · 1341 G St NW Frnt 6 · Washington, DC 20005-3105 · USA
Forwarded message
From: Voices for Non-Opioid Choices <info@nonopioidchoices.org>
Date: Mon, Nov 4, 2024, 12:25 PM
Subject: Voices November Newsletter
Monthly Newsletter
Action Opportunities this month:
Tell Congress that veterans deserve access to non-addictive treatments to manage their acute pain.
Help Medicare patients by telling your elected officials to pass the Alternatives to PAIN Act.
NOPAIN Act One Step Closer to Enactment!
On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule governing calendar year (CY) 2025 payments under the Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). This rule included important guidance on the agency’s implementation plans of the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (“NOPAIN”) Act as enacted as part of the fiscal year (2023) omnibus spending agreement signed into law in December of 2022.
The final CY2025 OPPS rule includes specific details about the legislation, including a list of products eligible for separate payment by the law, payment amounts, codes, and other important details to help providers adhere to this important legislation. The final rule included a list of 11 qualifying non-opioid products – including six drugs and five devices – that met the clinical criteria of the NOPAIN Act and will be eligible for separate payment.
Voices knows this rule – which came as a result of the enactment of the NOPAIN Act – will bring forth unprecedented patient and provider access to non-opioids in both the hospital outpatient surgical and ambulatory surgical settings. As a result, the rule will go a long way towards preventing opioid addiction that may occur after exposure to prescription opioids following a surgical procedure.
The rule still leaves some important questions unanswered, including how the rule may treat future qualifying products and the evidentiary criteria embodied in the clinical standard of the NOPAIN Act. Voices stands ready to work with the agency to address these issues and ensure that patients and healthcare providers have robust and unfettered access to FDA-approved, safe, and effective options in a timely manner.
The View from Washington, D.C.
Check out some of the updates from the nation's capital:
October 4th: Merkley, Wyden: $9.3 million coming to NW to support opioid response programs in tribal communities...Read more here.
October 7th: Markey, Massachusetts Delegation Secure Nearly $60 Million in Federal Funding to Fight the Opioid Crisis...Read more here.
October 16th: Turner and Tonko Launch Inquiry to Ensure Access to Addiction Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder...Read more here.
What's Happening in the States?
Check out some of the stories from across the country:
Storrs, CT: UConn professors working to treat pain without opioid medication advance new 'tool' through startup...Read more here.
Winona, MN: Winona women stock Little Free Libraries with tools to prevent and reverse overdose...Read more here.
Clifton Park, NY: Clifton Park doctor focuses on alternative pain management treatments to combat addiction...Read more here.
Veterans Day
Dear Advocates:
Every November, America honors the men and women of the military, both past and present, who have bravely served to protect our country by observing Veterans Day. We do so out of respect and remembrance for the sacrifices they make for us.
This month, we call upon you, our readers, to join us in helping those in our military gain increased access to non-addictive alternatives to opioids for acute pain management.
Over the last two years, we have focused our attention on helping our veterans. As many of you may know, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, providing care to over 9 million veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare program. However, primarily because of a lack of choices, the VHA still treats opioids as the first line of defense when it comes to alleviating post-surgical pain at the expense of equally effective, non-addictive alternatives.
Our veterans are not immune to the opioid epidemic. 2.4 million, or 12 percent, of our veterans reported having a substance use disorder in 2020, with approximately 500,000 of them opioid-related. Additionally, nearly half of combat-wounded veterans report misuse of prescription opioids.
This must stop. We want doctors who work at military facilities and anywhere veterans, retirees, and their families seek care to be able to choose what is best for their patients—military or civilian.
But we need your help!
Let your members of Congress know that our military community, including our veterans, deserve the very best care. Click on the button below to have your voice heard!
Click Here to Tell Congress to Help Our Veterans!
Focus on Veterans
As opioid-related drug overdose deaths continue to rise in the United States, those who serve our country are not immune. We continue to work to ensure that everyone- including and especially active-duty military, retirees, veterans, and their families- have access to FDA-approved non-opioid pain management options.
Click Here to Tell Congress to Help Our Veterans!
The Military Brief
Check out some of the military news from across the country:
Your Basin: West Texas VA takes aim at unused medications and prescription opioids... Read more here.
U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs: Montana VA Offers National Drug Takeback Locations... Read more here.
Stars and Stripes: Owner of clinics convicted of bilking federal programs of $35M for giving unneeded shots to patients, including veterans and troops... Read more here.
Voices Spotlight:
Every month we highlight one of our outstanding members:
This month, we are excited to spotlight on Heroes Helping Heroes 4 Life (H3), based in San Diego, California.
H3 is a grassroots social enterprise non-profit organization that helps Veterans and 1st Responders with behavioral health, suicide prevention, and homelessness. Their mission is to serve and support these heroes & their families suffering from the silent wounds of firsthand and secondhand PTSD by offering a life-line of healing that moves them past PTSD to PTG ~ Post Traumatic Growth.
The vision of H3 is to ignite a sense of purpose, champion success, and drive measurable results to homeless veterans of the US Armed Forces and their families. Through education, targeted fundraising, and serving the community, they aim to improve the overall health and restore a sense of dignity to veterans living in unfavorable circumstances.
Voices for Non-Opioid Choices is proud to have Heroes Helping Heroes 4 Life as a member.
To learn more about Heroes Helping Heroes 4 Life, please click on this link: https://heroeshelpingheroes4life.com/
Upcoming Events:
Veterans make up about 6 percent of the U.S. adult population, and often the veteran headlines focus on negative issues like homelessness, mental health challenges, and problems finding a job.
This Veterans Day, The Hill amplifies veterans’ voices from across the country, highlighting their transitions from military life to the workplace environment, their accomplishments and struggles, and their real-life stories as a tribute to their service.
As the veteran population has been declining steadily over the years, The Hill‘s Veterans Voices show salutes the veterans across the country and will dive into these questions:
How can we better value our veterans at home and at work? What are the top challenges affecting the country’s veterans? What more can policymakers in Washington do to improve the lives of those who are or have served their country? How can the private sector and communities across the country create pathways to opportunity for veterans and their families?
LOCATION
Washington, DC, and streaming nationwide
DATE & TIME
Wednesday, November 13
7:45 AM ET Registration & Networking
8:30 AM ET Programming begins
10:30 AM ET Programming concludes
Speakers:
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ranking Member, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), Chair, House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance & Memorial Affairs
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Member, Armed Services Committee
Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), President & CEO, Military Officers Association of America
Eric Eversole, President, Hiring Our Heroes (HOH), U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Terrence Hayes, Press Secretary, Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Allison Jaslow, Former Army Captain & CEO, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
Cindy Noel, Assistant Director of Field Operations, National Veterans Service, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
Jennifer Silva, U.S Army Veteran & Chief Program Officer, Wounded Warrior Project
Raul “Danny” Vargas , Chairman, CEO & Founder, American Latino Veterans Association
Click Here To Register
Don't forget to follow us:
@nonopioidchoice on Twitter and Facebook!
Website
Voices for Non-Opioid Choices · 1341 G St NW Frnt 6 · Washington, DC 20005-3105 · USA
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