As chairwoman of the West Virginia Senate’s Health and Human Resources Committee, I am keenly aware of our state’s struggle with opioid use disorder and the overdose crisis. Leaders throughout West Virginia have worked long and hard to come up with strategies and implement policies and procedures to help us reduce overdose deaths in this state.

These policies and procedures are making a difference. We are seeing a significant drop in the number of people who are dying of overdoses in our state since 2021. But, we’ve been in this boat before as we saw a reduction in overdose deaths before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when numbers again surged. So, we must keep up the fight and continue to pass common-sense policies to drive the number of overdose deaths down even further.

That is one reason why I applaud the good work of both Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Rep. Carol Miller. Both recognize the fact that we need to continue to fight to decrease overdoses in the state. For years, both lawmakers have led the charge in this fight, and they continue to do so by supporting legislation like the Alternatives to PAIN Act.

This federal bill would help reduce the number of addictive opioids prescribed by expanding access to cutting edge non-opioid medications. And although it will not eliminate the need for opioids, having less opioids in circulation will mean fewer people become addicted and fewer will overdose.

Non-opioid medications have been around for many years. Ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are a perfect example. But there are a handful of non-opioids approved to treat serious post-surgical pain with more that are set to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year, and they could be a game changer for management of acute pain.

Capito co-sponsored this bill on the Senate side last session and Miller did so in her chamber. The Alternatives to PAIN Act would expand access to non-opioid medications by making them more affordable for people on Medicare Part D. If this bill is signed into law, it will eliminate the requirement that patients try the less expensive opioid medication before they can access the non-opioid.

The bill would also limit cost sharing for Medicare Part D patients who have been prescribed a non-opioid medication.

This bill makes sure that the choice about what medications are right for the patient stay in the hands of the patient and doctor, not the insurance companies.

This bill will help us protect a vulnerable part of our population — our senior citizens. The problem of senior citizens suffering from substance use disorder is an often-underreported fact. In 2021, more than 4.3 million people 65 years old or older were diagnosed with substance use disorder, but fewer than 10% received treatment. And the rate of overdoses within this same age group increased by a staggering 400% between 2000 and 2020.

These statistics are just mind-blowing and something needs to be done. The Alternatives to PAIN Act could help drive these numbers down and protect our senior citizens.

Here in the Northern Panhandle, we have seen the scourge of drug use and the impact of the opioid crisis firsthand. Cities like Wheeling have seen the effects of the epidemic as have towns around the state. It has devastated families and our communities. It has caused our regional jail systems to become inundated with people and it has resulted in our foster care system being overwhelmed. It has attacked the very core of life in West Virginia, the family.

Enough is enough. I support the passage of the Alternatives to PAIN Act, and I thank Senator Capito and Congresswoman Miller for their co-sponsorship of this bill last session and I hope they will work with other leaders in Washington, D.C. to get it reintroduced and passed as soon as possible.

Laura Wakim Chapman is a state senator who represents Hancock, Brooke, Ohio counties and part of Marshall. She chairs the Health and Human Resources Committee.