Key federal lawmakers are pressuring the Drug Enforcement Administration to preserve health providers’ ability to prescribe a highly effective opioid addiction treatment via telehealth.
In a letter delivered to the Biden administration on Wednesday, a bipartisan group led by Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) urged the DEA to continue allowing health providers to prescribe buprenorphine, a controlled substance used to treat opioid addiction, without requiring an in-person visit.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, any patient who needed a controlled substance was required to be examined in person before receiving a prescription. But in early 2020, the DEA issued an emergency waiver that allowed health providers to prescribe the medications remotely. That waiver is set to expire at the end of 2024.
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