Create Choices to Address the Opioid Crisis and Protect More Americans
Living with addiction is a constant battle for far too many Americans and their families, including ours. I experienced the soul-crushing reality of opioid addiction when I lost my son to an accidental overdose, and the possibility of redemption when I met my husband, who is in long-term recovery. We hope our story will inspire Congress to enact a common-sense policy that can stem the tide of the opioid crisis and prevent other mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters from experiencing our shared pain.
My son Cameron died from an opioid overdose when he was just 18 years old. Like many people his age, he played sports, hung out with friends, and loved music. Following a series of surgeries due to football-related injuries, Cameron’s doctors prescribed him opioids to deal with his pain. Cameron told us the pills made him feel “like Superman.” What 16-year-old kid doesn’t want to feel like Superman? Eventually, like so many others before and after him, this prescription became the gateway to other drugs. For Cameron, that drug was heroin. Despite the doctor’s best attempts to help him recover, we lost Cameron to an opioid overdose on August 13, 2011.
After Cameron’s passing, I decided to build a place I wished would have existed for my son – Serenity Mesa Recovery Center. The Center provides transitional living services for young people (ages 14 to 21) who are struggling with an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. In the process, I also met my husband, David, who also battled addiction and is currently in long-term recovery after being exposed to opioids for an emergency surgery. Now, David does everything he can to avoid being re-exposed to opioids – even biting on a belt in moments of intense pain during a shoulder surgery. Together, we opened a refuge for all who have passed and those who still battle addiction.
As advocates for addiction recovery and founders of Serenity Mesa, we know all-too-well the sense of struggle that other patients, families, and communities feel when opioids impact their lives and loved ones. We also know that no solution to fix this crisis is a “silver bullet.” What is true, however, is that there are effective ways to prevent opioid addiction before it begins, and that starts with expanding access to and use of safer medications for those who are managing pain. Congress has the power to do just that by increasing the availability of FDA-approved non-opioid treatments.
Of the 107,600 Americans who died of a drug overdose in 2021, 75% involved opioids. That is enough people to fill the stands at two sold-out games at University Stadium near our home in Albuquerque, where I used to take Cameron to watch football games as a child. It’s impossible to fully grasp what it means to lose 80,000 people in a year. Cameron was only one, yet the pain of his absence will always be with us.
Misguided Medicare incentives encourage health professionals to write opioid prescriptions for pain management in the outpatient surgical setting. In fact, health professionals wrote 142 million opioid prescriptions in 2020 alone. Current federal reimbursement policy does not provide separate reimbursements for non-opioid treatments in Medicare the way it does for prescription opioids, so many institutions find they must limit pain management choices to generic opioids. Fortunately, there are alternative treatments coming to market for patients like Cameron that are safe and effective in treating pain. They won’t bring Cameron back, but they could save others, especially those in recovery, from the tragedy of addiction or relapse.
Non-opioid choices may allow a mother to attend her child’s birthday party, a teenager the opportunity to play in more sports games, and a family the chance to spend another holiday together without an empty seat at the table. It’s these moments that are at stake in the battle against opioid addiction.
Cameron will never stand by our side again, but fortunately, there are many lawmakers in Washington who are standing beside us and the countless victims of tragic opioid overdose. Congress introduced the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction In the Nation Act (NOPAIN Act) to increase access to safer pain management options by directing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide separate Medicare reimbursement for non-opioid treatments.
The legislation has champions in the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle. Senators Capito (R-WV), Shaheen (D-NH), Portman (R-OH), and Manchin (D-WV) introduced the Senate legislation, which has over 45 cosponsors to date. In the House, Representatives Sewell (D-AL), McKinley (R-VA), Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Kuster (D-NH) have been joined by over 110 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have cosponsored the legislation.
The opioid crisis has claimed too many lives, but Congress is on the right track to alter the path of the epidemic. We urge Congress to advance this bill to save more lives and protect Americans like David and those we serve.
Jennifer Weiss-Burke is the Executive Director and David Burke is the Director of Programming & Facilities of Serenity Mesa Recovery Center and Healing Addiction in Our Community.
