Bart Stupak, a former U.S. representative serving Northern Michigan, is lobbying to let online telehealth startups continue to prescribe controlled substances, Bloomberg reported Dec. 27.
During his time in Congress, Mr. Stupak sponsored legislation that effectively banned online prescriptions of controlled substances after the death of Ryan Haight, a California teenager who died from an overdose of opioids he obtained from a website.
Mr. Stupak is now lobbying to permanently extend COVID-19 pandemic-era rules that allow providers to prescribe controlled substances through telehealth.
The lobbying firm employing Mr. Stupak has been paid $150,000 by Done Global, an online telehealth company specializing in treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with prescription stimulants, according to Bloomberg.
The former congressman's lobbying campaign comes as the American Hospital Association asked the Drug Enforcement Administration to clarify COVID-19 pandemic-era online telehealth rules.