WASHINGTON–You deserve answers about Pres. Biden’s budget, said Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.). The Dr. Todd Graham Pain Management Study is part of that budget, and may help people find other ways to manage pain than with opioids.
Walorski, concerned that Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, delayed his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, of which Walorski is a senior member.
“American taxpayers deserve answers on President Biden’s budget,” said Walorski. “Now more than ever, we must make wise investments to address challenges Americans are facing in Indiana and across the country – from combating the opioid crisis to ending food insecurity and uplifting families.”
In a letter, Walorski urged Becerra to provide an update on the status of the Dr. Todd Graham Pain Management Study, which was included as a provision of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act of 2018.
Named for Hoosier Dr. Todd Graham, this provision aims to expand access to non-opioid alternative pain treatments and technologies.
“He got out of his car and he just walked up to Todd…and he just opened up and fired on him and Todd was dead,” said Walorski, in a 2018 interview about Graham, whom she knew personally. Graham was shot and killed in 2017 outside of his South Bend clinic, by a man who tried to get Graham to write an illicit pain pill prescription.
“This brought our community to a stand still and it brought our country to a stand still,” said Walorski. “He so much wanted to find the non-addiction paths and that’s what he was committing his research to.”
Walorski introduced the Dr. Todd Graham Pain Management, Treatment, and Recovery Act to honor the legacy of Graham and help find alternate ways to treat pain.
Walorski also asked for updates on the proposed White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger, and Health Act, and encouraged the Biden Administration to prioritize bipartisan collaboration. She also asked for updates on the administration’s plans for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, which is due for reauthorization this year.
