The Biden Administration is looking to permanently adopt loosened, pandemic-era rules designed to increase access to two treatments for opioid use disorder.
The rule change, which HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration proposed Dec. 13, would allow clinicians to prescribe buprenorphine via telehealth visits and permit patients to receive take-home doses of methadone.
SAMSA issued a waiver allowing these flexibilities during the pandemic. Prior to these reforms, many patients had to travel to an addiction clinic daily to receive a single dose of methadone.
At present, these waivers will expire when the national public health emergency ends Jan. 11, 2023.
HHS is accepting public comments on the proposal through Feb. 14.