Pew Calls on Congress to Support Telehealth for Addiction Treatment

On Feb. 15, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Rural Health Association, and Faces and Voices of Recovery wrote to congressional leadership urging swift passage of the Telehealth Response for E-prescribing Addiction Therapy Services (TREATS) Act (H.R. 5163/S. 3193). Nearly 130 organizations, including the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the National Safety Council, have signed on in support.

The TREATS Act would permanently allow patients with opioid use disorder to be evaluated and begin treatment with buprenorphine—an FDA-approved medication proved to reduce overdose risk and promote recovery—remotely, through either an audio-video or audio-only appointment. Temporary regulations put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic have allowed more patients to access buprenorphine than ever via telehealth, but these rules are set to expire at the end of 2024, forcing patients to return to in-person care unless Congress acts.

Pew’s letter asks Congress to pass the TREATS Act to preserve this critical lifeline to treatment.