\u201cVeterans are among those most acutely impacted by the opioid crisis,\u201d Crapo said in a statement to Task & Purpose. \u201cExpanding direct access to opioid overdose reversal medications like Naloxone builds upon existing VA programs, reduces stigma around seeking treatment and ensures life-saving medication is available when it is needed most. This legislation is an essential part of a broader effort to confront the opioid epidemic head-on for veterans and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A significant number of veterans are prescribed opioids to manage high rates of chronic pain<\/a> because of service-related injuries<\/a> and trauma. According to VA data, more than 50 % of veterans who were prescribed opioids in 2023<\/a> were on long-term opioid therapy, meaning they use them for more than three months. In 2022, nearly 2.8 million, or 14% of veterans, reported<\/a> having at least one substance use disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n National Legislative Associate Director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Meggan Coleman said expanding prescription-free access to naloxone through the VA is \u201ca critical step to prevent avoidable veteran deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVeterans face higher rates of chronic pain, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders, which increase overdose risk for both veterans and their households. Removing cost and administrative barriers within the VA aligns with evidence-based public health practices, empowers caregivers to respond in emergencies, and reduces stigma around seeking help,\u201d Coleman said in a statement.<\/p>\n In recent years, the VA has made a number of strides towards bringing down the number of opioids given to patients with new prescribing methodologies and internal policies<\/a>. At the local level, the VA has recognized medical centers with targeted programs to improve naloxone access<\/a>, like in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That VA center began giving kits to veterans at community centers, resource fairs, through their mobile medical unit and informing veterans of availability through automated calls.\u00a0<\/p>\n Get Task & Purpose in your inbox<\/p>\n Sign up for Task & Purpose Today to get the latest in military news each morning.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Sign Up <\/a><\/p>\n In 2023, Narcan was approved for over-the-counter use<\/a> by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, making it more widely available online and in drug stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. In 2024, an advocacy group made up of active duty airmen helped bring Narcan to local military exchanges<\/a> for troops and military families to buy it in stores on base and online.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is our duty to look out for those who bravely served our nation, and while we\u2019ve made great strides towards ending the substance use epidemic, far too many veterans are still losing their lives due to overdoses. That is unacceptable, and it\u2019s imperative that we explore every avenue to make life-saving treatments more accessible at the VA,\u201d Sen. Shaheen said in a statement.<\/p>\n According to the bill\u2019s text<\/a>, the VA secretary can collect veterans\u2019 personally identifiable information for prescribing the reversal medication but \u201csolely for the purpose of delivering, evaluating, and enhancing the quality of health care.\u201d The personal information cannot be used to prevent a veteran from future employment as evidence of a history of drug use or addiction.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the bill becomes law, the VA secretary would be required to report to Congress on the number of veterans and caregivers who received naloxone, utilization trends, and \u201cfeasibility\u201d assessments on expanding the authority to veterans\u2019 immediate family members and to other VA community care providers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bill was introduced Feb. 2 in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs.<\/p>\n \t\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Task & Purpose Video<\/p>\n Each week on Tuesdays and Fridays our team will bring you analysis of military tech, tactics, and doctrine.<\/p>\n \t\u00a0<\/p>\n Patty is a senior reporter for Task & Purpose. She\u2019s reported on the military for five years, embedding with the National Guard during a hurricane and covering Guantanamo Bay legal proceedings for an alleged al Qaeda commander.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veterans may get more access to a medication for reversing opioid overdoses if a new bill becomes law.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[64,63,137,490],"class_list":["post-470526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-medication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/250319-N-ML799-1660K.jpeg\")
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