Over a dozen surgical organizations today urged CMS to ensure that its episode-based payment models support the use of non-opioid pain management therapies.
The request was made in a letter to CMS Deputy Administrator Abe Sutton that was led by Voices for Non-Opioid Choices, “a nonpartisan coalition that works to prevent opioid addiction by expanding access to non-opioid therapies for acute pain management.”
Key surgical associations such as the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, the American Podiatric Medical Association, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, the Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society, and the Society for Opioid Free Anesthesia signed the letter.
“The Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation Act, or the NOPAIN Act, clearly displayed bipartisan agreement on the necessity for patient access to non-opioid pain management options,” states Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) Chief Advocacy Officer Kara Newbury. “As Medicare continues to explore new payment models and care delivery pathways, we need to ensure that a patient’s ability to access non-opioid treatment options is upheld.”
ASCA states that “several recent Medicare payment models developed by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, the CMS subagency that Sutton heads, do not include separate payments for products designated by the NOPAIN Act as non-opioid pain management alternatives. As a result, participants in these models might face financial disincentives to use these products, despite Congress’ clear intent to promote access to non-opioid pain management options. The coalition’s letter requests exclusions for qualifying products under the NOPAIN Act that would remove the economic disincentives and support the use of non-opioid pain management therapies in postsurgical settings.”
