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1 (2017)

handle is hein.cbhear/fdsysavfk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUTHENTICATEO U.S. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION GP MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AF- FAIRS, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPRO- PRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 2:33 p.m. in room SD-124, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jerry Moran (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Moran, Murkowski, Hoeven, Collins, Boozman, Capito, Schatz, Leahy, Tester, Udall, Baldwin, and Murphy. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS STATEMENT OF DR. LAURENCE MEYER, M.D., CHIEF OFFICER FOR SPECIALTY CARE, VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION ACCOMPANIED BY DR. FRIEDHELM SANDBRINK, M.D., ACTING NATIONAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JERRY MORAN Senator MORAN. Good afternoon. The subcommittee will come to order. I'm very interested and pleased that we're having this hear- ing. Senator Baldwin as well as Senator Capito were instrumental in encouraging me, although Senator Baldwin went through every- body I know to tell me I should do this. [Laughter.] Senator MORAN. I'm glad that I agree with all of them. It worked. And this is a timely topic, timely all the time, but es- pecially now. And so we're pleased to have our eighth sub- committee hearing of this year, and we want to have a conversa- tion and a discussion about pain management at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and particularly how to prevent the over- prescription of opioids. In 2018, veterans were twice as likely-I'm sorry, 2011, veterans were twice as likely to die from accidental opioid overdose than non-veterans. In 2013, prescriptions for opioids increased by 270 percent over just 12 years, and the VA reported that more than 50 percent of veterans receiving care from the VA medical facilities were affected by chronic pain. According to more recent data, over 63 percent of veterans re- ceiving chronic opioid treatment from the VA also have a mental health diagnosis. This subcommittee understands that the Department has been focused on creating and implementing better ways to monitor the

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