ASAM submitted recommendations on the White House Opioid Commission’s Interim Report. The Interim Report outlines recommendations from the commission to inform the White House of the best methods to combat the opioid epidemic.

In the wake of the introduction of the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety (OPPS) Act, a bill that would amend the federal statute underlying the addiction treatment privacy regulations known as 42 CFR Part 2 (“Part 2”), ASAM has received many questions about our support for the bill and our position on changing Part 2.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz as the first Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) applauds the Senate for approving Dr. McCance-Katz’s nomination and congratulates Dr. McCance-Katz on her new role.

ASAM and the Partnership to Amend 42 CFR Part 2 (Partnership) sent a letter strongly supporting the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety (OPPS) Act, H.R. 3545, which would align 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2) with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for the purposes of health care treatment, payment, and operations (TPO).

ASAM led a coalition letter signed by 465 organizations sharing serious concerns regarding the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). The letter emphasized how the BCRA’s proposed changes to the health care system will result in reductions in health care coverage, particularly for vulnerable populations including those suffering from substance use disorders and mental illness.

ASAM submitted comment letters to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with recommendations regarding its proposed Blueprint for the extended-release, long-acting (ER/LA) Opioid Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) training as well as whether such training should be mandatory for all ER/LA opioid prescribers.

ASAM and the New Jersey Society of Addiction Medicine (NJSAM) submitted letters of support with recommended revision for A4138 and S1051, legislation that would require state insurance providers to cover the costs of buprenorphine and prohibit utilization controls.

ASAM and the New York Society of Addiction Medicine (NYSAM) submitted comments on emergency proposed regulations to align state law with federal law to allow NPs and PAs to prescribe buprenorphine for addiction treatment.