Urging action on the TREATS Act (H.R. 5163 / S. 3193)

Urging action on the TREATS Act (H.R. 5163 / S. 3193) and new legislation to maintain life-saving addiction treatment I am writing as your constituent with great fear that the Drug Enforcement Administration will soon drastically limit virtual prescribing and potentially jeopardize life-saving addiction treatment for thousands of people across America. The DEA’s pandemic era rule allowing telehealth providers to prescribe controlled substances (such as buprenorphine for opioid use disorder) is set to expire on December 31, 2024. Thousands of people actively engaged in telehealth treatment stand to lose access to life-saving medication if the DEA implements new regulations that hinder telehealth or allows current prescribing flexibilities to expire. Any abrupt discontinuation of virtual care would be catastrophic. As your constituent, I ask that you please co-sponsor The TREATS Act, which would allow for the use of telehealth to treat substance use disorders. Alternatively, I ask that you support a new bill being drafted in the Senate by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and in the House by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) that would extend the current telehealth flexibilities for 2 more years. We must ensure there is more time to maintain virtual access before the end of year deadline. More than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses last year. The addiction and overdose crisis –– driven by lethal synthetic opioids like fentanyl –– continues to take far too many American lives. Telehealth is a safe and effective means for people struggling with opioid addiction to access medications that greatly reduce their risk of a fatal overdose and improve their chance of successful recovery. I ask that you please allow people to continue accessing treatment that works for them. The lives of your constituents depend on your actions.