Bipartisan bill reintroduced to allow direct methadone prescribing for addiction
8 reported
Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced an updated version of legislation on Thursday that would allow board-certified addiction medicine doctors to prescribe methadone directly to patients for pickup at a pharmacy. Currently, methadone is available only at roughly 2,000 specialty clinics, many requiring daily in-person attendance. Markey first introduced the bill in 2023, and the Senate HELP Committee approved it on a bipartisan basis in December 2023, but it never received a full Senate vote and failed in the House. The new version also allows the Department of Health and Human Services to designate additional prescribing providers without further congressional action. A 2024 STAT investigation found private equity firms have acquired stakes in about one-third of all methadone clinics, and many of those chains, along with a trade group, lobbied against the earlier bill. The legislation has gained support from advocacy groups including Faces & Voices of Recovery and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
What’s reported
Sens. Ed Markey and Rand Paul introduced an updated version of the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act on Thursday.
The bill would allow board-certified addiction medicine doctors to prescribe methadone for pharmacy pickup.
Methadone is currently only available at roughly 2,000 specialty clinics, many requiring daily in-person attendance.
The Senate HELP Committee approved the original bill in December 2023, but it never received a full Senate vote and failed in the House.
The new version allows HHS to designate additional prescribing providers without further congressional action.
A 2024 STAT investigation found private equity firms have acquired stakes in roughly one-third of all methadone clinics.
The trade group American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence led a campaign against the earlier bill.
The legislation is endorsed by Faces & Voices of Recovery, American Society of Addiction Medicine, Drug Policy Alliance, R Street Institute, and Legal Action Center.
Key figures
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.)
American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (trade group)
Faces & Voices of Recovery
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Drug Policy Alliance
R Street Institute
Legal Action Center
Sources: statnews.com
