Thousands of Americans face acute pain caused daily by surgeries, accidents or other temporary conditions. Many turn to opioid medications for relief. Due to the medications’ addictive nature, tragedy often follows.
The opioid crisis continues to claim victims. Despite a plentiful supply of safe and effective alternatives, red tape makes it easier to prescribe opioids than non-addictive options, limiting freedom of choice for doctors and patients and putting lives at risk.
Data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that, in 2022, 108,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. More than 81,000 of those deaths involved prescribed or illicit opioids. Shockingly, 15,000 of those tragedies involved only prescribed opioids. In other words, treatments designed to relieve patients’ pain often lead to addiction and, frequently, death.
Around 80 million Americans require medication for acute pain. Half of them receive an opioid prescription. This is entirely avoidable. Scientific innovation already offers safer alternatives, but outdated government regulations hinder these medications from reaching patients.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new non-opioid oral medication for moderate to severe acute pain. Journavx, and other drugs like it, provide relief comparable to opioids without the risk of addiction. They are the ideal solution for millions of people.
We should not want bureaucracy or Medicare policies to prevent patients from accessing these solutions. For example, patients can sometimes access these drugs only if they previously tried and failed to treat their pain with opioids. Many patients end up receiving opioids because it is administratively simpler for healthcare providers and insurers.
Instead of allowing doctors and patients to choose the safest and most effective option freely, the current setup pushes Americans suffering with pain toward addiction. There are several clear barriers to accessing FDA-approved non-opioids, which should be urgently removed. They include harmful prior-authorization requirements, “fail-first” rules, and ensuring cost parity with opioids before products can enter the market.
These barriers stem from rules set by Medicare and Medicaid, federal programs that cover millions of Americans and serve as a model for many private insurers. Although the market offers safe and effective alternatives, the government bears direct responsibility for the few patients having access to these drugs by setting standards that make it easier to prescribe opioids than non-opioids, forcing patients to resort to unnecessarily risky treatments.
Government agencies and programs have a responsibility to execute their functions promptly and efficiently, especially when lives are at stake. Medicare coverage must be accelerated. Seniors cannot wait years to access FDA-approved non-opioids. The NOPAIN Act must be enforced thoroughly. The law has already been passed, but it still needs to be implemented to ensure that new non-opioid medications are available in hospitals and outpatient services.
Beyond the clear harm to Americans’ lives indirectly caused by the state, the opioid epidemic imposes a massive financial burden, costing $1.5 trillion annually, according to the Joint Economic Committee. Replacing 10 percent to 25 percent of opioid prescriptions with safer non-opioid alternatives could save thousands of lives.
Modeling suggests 3,600 deaths could be averted in five years, rising to 14,400 in 10 years, according to the Stanford-Lancet Commission. That would generate billions in savings, between $27 billion and $68 billion over the long term, if outdated regulatory barriers are eliminated.
This public health issue deserves a non-partisan, ideology-free approach. Eliminating bureaucracy and ensuring access to safe medications is a clear, practical solution that can and should unite lawmakers who agree on the basic principle that patients deserve the freedom to choose non-addictive treatments when available. The government should not assume a paternalistic role in making these choices on behalf of patients.
The goal of health policy should be to remove unnecessary barriers, restore freedom of choice, and allow medical innovation to improve the quality of life. The market has already found safe alternatives to opioids. All the government needs to do is get out of the way. This is more than a health issue; it’s a moral imperative. Policymakers must act now to end policies that favor addiction over safety.
