When it comes to healthcare policy, the incoming Trump administration has a unique opportunity to inject market forces, consumer choice, and smart policies to give Americans better alternatives when seeking help. Government bureaucrats usually make decisions that are in the interest of government bureaucrats rather than the interest of end users of healthcare. On the matter of opioids, a rational policy would be to push solutions that provide alternatives for those in pain so they don’t replace one problem with a new dependency on opioids.
As we look toward the policies that will shape the next term of the Trump administration, one matter that demands attention is the opioid crisis — a scourge that has ravaged American communities. In his first term, President-elect Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency, setting a precedent for aggressive action. Now, with the administration back in power, it’s time to build on this foundation by supporting legislation such as the Alternatives to Prevent Addiction in the Nation (Alternatives to PAIN) Act, which focuses on expanding access to non-opioid pain management options for seniors.
The Alternatives to PAIN Act was introduced last year in Congress with bipartisan support, showcasing a rare consensus on Capitol Hill. Last January, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and former Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA) started the initiative in the House, while Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) carried the torch in the Senate. The bill has garnered 57 co-sponsors in the House and 19 in the Senate, reflecting the urgency with which this matter is viewed across party lines. It will need to be reintroduced this year because the Biden administration made no effort to get it passed.
This legislative effort builds upon the NO PAIN Act, signed into law in 2022, which aims to increase patient and provider access to FDA-approved non-opioid therapies in outpatient surgical settings. While the NO PAIN Act focuses on procedural pain management, the Alternatives to PAIN Act extends this approach into the broader realm of pain management under Medicare Part D. It proposes limiting cost-sharing for non-opioid medications, removing barriers, such as step therapy, and promoting shared decision-making between patients and healthcare providers, thereby making non-opioid options as accessible as their opioid counterparts.
The need for this legislation is evident because of opioid abuse by seniors. In 2021, over 1.1 million seniors were diagnosed with opioid use disorder, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates of drug overdose deaths increased among adults aged 55 and older between 2022 and 2023. The opioid crisis does not discriminate by age, and seniors are increasingly at risk due to their greater susceptibility to chronic pain and the ease with which they can be prescribed these addictive substances.
The economic implications are as devastating as the human toll. The opioid crisis is costing U.S. taxpayers an estimated $1.5 trillion annually. By shifting the paradigm toward non-opioid pain management, not only could we reduce these costs, but we could also prevent the onset of addiction in many cases, thereby saving lives and reducing the strain on healthcare resources.
Under the Biden administration, we saw an uptick in opioid deaths every year, highlighting the need for a robust, effective policy response. Now, with a new administration, there’s an opportunity to “Make America Healthy Again” by revisiting and expanding upon the initiatives started under Trump’s first term. The Alternatives to PAIN Act represents a practical, actionable step toward this goal by ensuring that the healthcare system isn’t unduly reliant on opioids for seniors’ pain management.
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As we move forward, the incoming Trump administration should not only endorse but actively push for the passage of the Alternatives to PAIN Act. This would affirm a commitment to tackling one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time, ensuring that our seniors have access to safer, nonaddictive alternatives for managing pain, thus preventing unnecessary opioid prescriptions from flooding our communities. Let’s make this a priority to truly turn the tide on the opioid epidemic.
Consumer choice is a centerpiece of a good healthcare system. One way to do so is to give seniors the choice of alternatives to opioids to prevent the solution to pain from becoming a new problem.
Brian Darling is a former staffer for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
