New CMS rule focuses on postop opioids in outpatient settings

Editor's Note

The Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act, which is set to take effect in 2025, will set up a separate Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) payment for certain nonopioid pain management techniques in outpatient and ambulatory surgery center (ASC) settings, the September 12 Becker’s ASC Review reports.

The law will incentivize the use of pain relief methods, such as nerve blocks and long-acting local anesthetics, instead of more addictive opioids.

In 2019, CMS made nonopioid options a separate payment for patients treated at ASCs. The aim of the NOPAIN Act, which will expire the end of 2027, is to create parity in how methods of pain relief are covered in hospital outpatient departments and ASCs.