August 6, 2026
Alexandria, VA—The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association joined 16 organizations in urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ensure its episode-based payment models support the use of non-opioid pain management therapies. In a letter to CMS Deputy Administrator Abe Sutton, the coalition urged the agency to better align its models with efforts to combat the opioid addiction epidemic. The letter 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.
“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,” said 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.”
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.
Read the letter.