The Senate has now passed legislation requiring chiropractic care in every VA hospital.

Are there instances of death that resulted from prescriptions of opioids, the use of opioids, because of the circumstances you describe in your report; in other words, prescriptions that are within community care?

In my view, veterans in Kansas and across the country will be misserved, underserved, in the absence of community care.

Thank you very much.

CARA included a bill led by Senators Baldwin and Capito known as the Jason Simcakoski Memorial and Promise Act or Jason's law, named after Mr. Simcakoski's son.

Opioid overprescription abuse is truly a severe problem in Arkansas, as we discussed, and is so much so throughout the country.

I hope today's hearing facilitates a candid conversation about the improvements that the Department is making and needs to make and how Congress can support you with appropriate funding and needed changes in the law.

I've suggested, at least to myself, that you and I have a regular meeting.

I appreciate the relationship and cooperation with Senator Schatz.

In 2016, 235.9 million opioid pills were sold in Arkansas, three opioid prescriptions for every Arkansan.

I understand that Senators Baldwin and Capito are once again at work to address this issue, and I support their effort.

The plan, and I think it's the right one, is to consolidate all community care under one program so that Choice and the community care programs that the VA already had before Choice become one pot of money.

Senator Baldwin as well as Senator Capito were instrumental in encouraging me.

It's true in conversations that we have, casework in our office, in which the complaint will be, 'I no longer can get the medications that I need or have had in the past,' so there's pushback because of the addiction.

I'm very interested and pleased that we're having this hearing.

In July last year, the first major Federal addiction legislation in 40 years, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), was signed into law to address the opioid epidemic in this country.

I don't have a clear understanding where that is.

Do we have any statistics that demonstrate that a veteran has, as a result of opioid or other drug addiction and abuse, has died in the category of community care?