NOPAIN for Veterans Act, H.R. 4509

The NCOA Government Affairs Director, Levi Sadr, submitted the following statement to The U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Health Subcommittee:

On behalf of the Non-Commissioned Officers Association of America (NCOA), thank you for the opportunity to submit a statement for the record for today’s Health Subcommittee Legislative Hearing. We appreciate the Subcommittee’s leadership and continued commitment to improving veterans’ access to quality health care.

Founded in 1960, NCOA represents enlisted service members, veterans, and their families and works to ensure they receive the benefits, care, and support they have earned through service.

NCOA strongly supports H.R. 4509, the NOPAIN for Veterans Act. Too many veterans continue to experience unnecessary delays or denials of appropriate acute pain management following surgery, leading to avoidable suffering and diminished quality of life. This legislation is an important step toward ensuring veterans receive individualized, clinically appropriate pain care based on medical need rather than inflexible policy constraints.

The NOPAIN for Veterans Act restores clinical judgment to VA providers while maintaining safeguards against misuse. Veterans’ medical needs vary widely, and pain management policies must allow providers the flexibility to treat the whole veteran.

We urge Congress to advance H.R. 4509 without delay. Veterans should never be forced to endure unmanaged pain as an unintended consequence of overly restrictive policies. Thank you for your continued dedication to improving veterans’ health outcomes.

H.R. 4509