WellLink Health Alliance Advocates for Legislation to Expand Access to Non-Opioid Pain Management

As policymakers continue searching for solutions to the nation’s opioid crisis, efforts are gaining momentum in Washington, D.C. to expand access to non-opioid pain management options.

On May 21, Jodi Mitchell, WellLink’s Senior Director of Government Relations and Policy and Director of the Northeast Ohio Opioid Consortium, joined Voices for Non-Opioid Choices on their 2026 Advocacy Day as an Ohio advocate, urging Congress to support two pieces of legislation designed to expand access to non-opioid pain management therapies.

Voices for Non-Opioid Choices, a nonpartisan coalition dedicated to increasing patient access to non-opioid therapies and approaches to managing acute pain, advocates for policy changes that improve patient and provider access to non-opioid approaches to manage acute pain. While advocacy efforts continue year-round, Advocacy Day brought more than 100 individuals to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers and discuss solutions to the nation’s opioid crisis.

The overprescribing of opioids continues to be a significant issue, particularly for those experiencing surgery-related acute pain. Approximately 90% of acute pain patients receive opioids following surgical procedures, creating a potential path to opioid misuse, abuse, and addiction.

Each year, millions of Americans become chronic opioid users in an effort to relieve acute and chronic pain. On average, patients receive 80 opioid pills to manage pain following some surgical procedures. While most patients report having leftover opioids, 90% say they do not properly dispose of unused medications.

These persistent challenges underscore the need for policy solutions to reduce the overprescribing of opioids and expand alternatives such as non-opioid treatments, specifically for individuals who have a substance use disorder, are in recovery, or have a chronic condition where opioids are not appropriate. During Advocacy Day, Mitchell advocated for two pieces of legislation aimed at improving access to non-opioid pain management.

The Alternatives to Prevent Addiction in the Nation (PAIN) Act 
The Alternatives to PAIN Act (H.R.1227/S.475) would help prevent unnecessary exposure to opioids and expand access to innovative pain management therapies for Medicare beneficiaries. The legislation would ensure seniors have equal access to pain treatments at the pharmacy by preventing non-opioid prescriptions from costing more out of pocket than other medications.

The legislation would also establish patient cost-sharing at no greater than generic drug tier for patients receiving non-opioid based pain relief under Medicare Part D plans. In addition, it would prohibit step therapy requirements and prior authorization barriers for non-opioid pain management drugs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

While opioid prescribing nationwide has declined 40% over the last decade, Medicare’s share of opioid prescribing increased by 75%. Although progress has been made in some areas, the opioid epidemic continues to negatively affect communities across the country:

• Between April 2024 and April 2025, an average of 133 Americans died each day from an opioid-related drug overdose.
• Congress' Joint Economic Committee estimates that the opioid crisis costs the nation $1.5 trillion annually, with Medicare incurring $33 billion.
• Opioid-related overdose deaths among those aged 65 and older have increased 63% over the last decade.
• In 2023, 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries suffered from opioid use disorder and 53,165 experienced an opioid overdose.

With several new opioid alternatives already on the market and additional therapies in development, support for broad patient access to these treatments remains critical.

NOPAIN for Veterans Act 
In 2022, Congress passed the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act to help ensure safe, non-addictive therapies are widely available to the tens of millions of Medicare recipients who undergo an outpatient surgical procedure every year. This law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, and represented a landmark victory to prevent opioid addiction in the United States.

However, those protections do not currently extend to veterans receiving care through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Building on those efforts, WellLink Health Alliance, the Northeast Ohio Opioid Consortium, and Voices urged Congress to pass the NOPAIN for Veterans Act (H.R. 4509/S. 3209), which would expand access to safe, FDA-approved non-opioid pain management options for veterans and their families through VA healthcare. 

The legislation would reform how the Department of Veterans Affairs provides and covers non-opioid pain management medications by requiring the VA to furnish and cover such drugs under its pharmacy benefits if they are covered by Medicare.

The impact of the opioid epidemic on veterans is severe:

• Drug overdose mortality rates among veterans increased 53% from 2010-2019.
• Prescription painkiller abuse related to combat exposure during the War on Terror is associated with approximately $1 billion in healthcare costs.
• Nearly 50% of combat-wounded veterans report misuse of prescription opioids.
• Receiving a short-term opioid prescription is associated with an increased risk of heroin initiation among veterans.

Upcoming Northeast Ohio Opioid Consortium Event
As the opioid epidemic continues to affect communities across the country, WellLink Health Alliance remains committed to advocating for policies that expand access to safe, effective non-opioid pain management options.

Join WellLink’s Northeast Ohio Opioid Consortium on June 25 for a virtual opioid education series event focused on the evolving landscape of federal pain management policy. The session will feature presentations from experts highlighting current federal legislative efforts aimed at removing barriers to non-opioid treatments and preventing addiction before it starts.

WellLink’s Jodi Mitchell, Voices for Non-Opioid Choices’ Christopher Fox, and U.S. Representative Greg Landsman will provide remarks. Landsman is the driving force behind current pain management policy as a key sponsor of the NOPAIN for Veterans Act. Register at welllinkhealthalliance.com.