ASAM leaders Dr. Yngvild Olsen and Dr. Jeff Selzer served as ASAM representatives and subject matter experts on the FSMB Workgroup that developed the newly approved Policy on Physician Illness and Impairment: Towards a Model that Optimizes Patient Safety and Physician Health.

On May 21, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and 228 other organizations sent a letter urging legislators to include $120 million for the Infectious Diseases and the Opioid Epidemic program in the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies' appropriations bills.

ASAM sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide comments on the proposed modifications to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, intended to support, and remove barriers to, coordinated care and individual engagement.

ASAM urges FDA to propose and finalize regulations expeditiously to implement this bold proposal that will protect youth against tobacco use initiation, reduce health disparities, and save lives

The Midwest Society of Addiction Medicine (MWSAM) submitted a letter of support for SB521, which would require that state entities in Missouri responsible for individuals who are incarcerated provide screening and assessment for substance use disorder (SUD), as well as access to various forms of medications for addiction treatment (MAT).

ASAM commends the reintroduction of the Opioid Workforce Act, which would expand the physician workforce by providing support for 1,000 new graduate medical education training positions over five years in hospitals that have—or are in the process of establishing—accredited residency programs in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry, or pain medicine.

The new policy exempts eligible, DEA-registered practitioners from federal certification requirements related to training, counseling, and other ancillary services that are part of the process for obtaining a waiver to treat up to 30 patients with buprenorphine – a step toward helping Americans with opioid use disorder access evidence-based addiction care.

The Northern New England Society of Addiction Medicine (NNESAM) submitted a letter in support of both LD 663 and LD 994. These bills would provide medication assisted treatment in correctional facilities and decriminalize hypodermic apparatuses respectively.