Turner offers bill to improve opioid addiction treatment

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) on Feb. 25 introduced a bipartisan bill that gained support from almost 50 of his colleagues aimed at stopping the United States government from restricting safe and effective anti-opioid treatments like buprenorphine. 

The Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, H.R. 1384, which Rep. Turner cosponsored with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and 48 other original cosponsors, would eliminate the federal buprenorphine waiver  — commonly called the x-waiver — that medical professionals must receive from the Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of substance use disorder.

“I am proud to introduce landmark, bipartisan legislation, the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act (MAT), that would expand practitioners’ ability to prescribe this crucial treatment option,” said Rep. Turner, noting that more than 40 percent of counties in the U.S. “do not have a physician who is licensed to prescribe this life-saving medicine,” according to data he cited from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

Buprenorphine is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) as a medication-assisted treatment (MAT), according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which also says that buprenorphine is the first medication to treat OUD that can be prescribed or dispensed in physician offices, significantly increasing access to treatment.

The “burdensome [DEA] requirement does not improve patient safety, but does lead to treatment bottlenecks and a lack of providers across the country, particularly in rural areas,” wrote Rep. Turner and several of his colleagues in a bipartisan Feb. 8 letter sent to President Joe Biden. 

“This outdated waiver requirement continues to limit access to treatment even as medical professionals are able to prescribe the same drug for pain management without jumping through bureaucratic hoops,” the members wrote. “Removing this barrier will massively expand treatment access, making it easier for medical professionals to integrate substance use disorder treatment into primary care settings.”

H.R. 1384 is supported by numerous organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Pharmacists Association, the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, Mental Health America, the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, the National Council for Behavioral Health, and The Pew Charitable Trusts, among many others. 

“As the opioid crisis continues to surge during COVID-19, I urge President Biden to reverse his misguided position on this issue and for Congress to take action to pass the MAT Act,” said Rep. Turner. “Together we can stop government from getting in the way of life-saving treatment for millions of Americans battling opioid addiction.”