AAPP joined the American Society of Addiction Medicine, ASHP, and other healthcare associations in a letter to Representative Houchin encouraging revisions to H.R. 5629 which would Increase overdoses and reduce access to evidence-based OUD care, especially in rural areas. We argue that, if enacted as currently drafted, the bill would result in more opioid overdoses, because fewer people would get methadone treatment for OUD, with no improvement in safety for our communities. The organizations offer to collaborate on revisions which are recommended to:
- position States, not a federal agency in Washington, DC, as the primary regulators of the practice of medicine involving methadone for OUD dispensed from pharmacies;
- permit addiction specialist physicians who specially register with the Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe methadone for OUD that can be dispensed at community pharmacy locations providing supervised and safe access options closer to patients’ homes;
- incorporate federal safety and diversion-control measures for models of care providing methadone for OUD through pharmacies;
- preserve States’ authorities to issue more restrictive regulations than current federal regulations governing OTP take-homes and telehealth flexibilities; and
- encourage federal activities that increase the participation of primary care physicians, particularly those practicing in rural and other underserved areas, in subspecialty training in addiction medicine – with the goal of expanding integrated care models that combine the onsite delivery of primary care, specialty addiction treatment, and recovery support services across the country.