# Understanding the Veterans HOPE Act

The Veterans HOPE Act directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate opioid overdose deaths among veterans. Specifically, the VA must examine all veterans who died from opioid overdoses in the five years before this law passes, and complete this review within 18 months. The goal is to understand what's happening and find ways to prevent future deaths.

The bill responds to a serious problem: veterans are dying from opioid overdoses at alarming rates. According to the research cited in the bill, opioid overdose deaths among veterans jumped by 65 percent between 2010 and 2016. What's particularly concerning is that while fewer veterans were receiving prescription opioids from the VA during this period, deaths from heroin and synthetic opioids like fentanyl actually increased dramatically—deaths from heroin nearly quintupled and deaths from synthetic opioids more than quintupled. This suggests that many veterans who overdose aren't getting their drugs from VA prescriptions but from other sources.

The review will examine detailed information about each veteran who died, including their age, medical history, medications they were taking, diagnoses, and whether they had experienced combat trauma or PTSD. The VA will also look at which medical facilities have high rates of both opioid prescribing and drug abuse treatment, and will identify patterns that might explain why overdoses are happening. Importantly, the bill asks the VA to focus on veterans who hadn't received opioid prescriptions in the three months before their death—recognizing that the overdose crisis isn't just about prescription painkillers.

Within 45 days of completing the review, the VA must share the full report with Congress and the public, and brief the congressional committees that oversee veterans' affairs. The bill essentially asks the VA to provide transparency about this crisis and offer recommendations for how to better protect veterans' lives going forward.

Veterans HOPE Act

Murphy, Gregory F.

Veterans Heroin Overdose Prevention Examination Act or the Veterans HOPE Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to complete a review of the deaths of all covered veterans who died from opioid overdoses during the five-year period preceding the enactment of this bill. Covered veterans are those who received VA hospital care or medical services during the five-year period preceding the death of the veteran. The VA shall report on the results of the review and make such report publicly available.