An analysis of the impact of a federal judge's rulings striking down Medicaid work requirement programs in Kentucky and Arkansas.

On April 3, the Board of Directors of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) approved a new policy statement: Public Policy Statement on the Ethical Use of Drug Testing in the Practice of Addiction Medicine. This Policy Statement includes recommendations on the clinical use of drug testing, appropriateness of presumptive testing, and the responsibilities of clinicians when testing for drugs.

The Partnership to Amend 42 CFR Part 2 issued a statement in response to the introduction of identical bipartisan bills in both the House and Senate. The Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act, “OPPS Act”, was introduced by Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and the Protecting Jessica Grubb’s Legacy Act, “Legacy Act”, was introduced by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Joe Manchin (D-WV).

ASAM joined 18 other organizations in sending a letter urging the leadership of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to fund programs in the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) “Public Health and Preventive Medicine” line item in Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) at the level of $24 million.

ASAM applauds a bipartisan group of lawmakers who sent letters this week urging their colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee to prioritize funding for two critical programs that would increase the ranks of qualified, well-trained addiction treatment professionals in high-need communities across the United States. Both programs were authorized in previous legislation and must now be funded.

The dearth of FDA-approved pharmacotherapies for the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD) prompted ASAM to write to the Food and Drug Administration urging them to take into consideration the need for access to multiple treatment options for clinicians and their patients as they consider applications for new products to treat SUD.

The Partnership to Amend 42 CFR Part 2 sent a letter urging Senator Lamar Alexander to help align 42 CFR Part 2 with HIPAA.

Dr. Kelly J. Clark, president of ASAM, participated in a congressional roundtable sponsored by the House Bipartisan Heroin and Opioid Task Force. At the event, she urged lawmakers to make strategic investments in the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment workforce in order to close the addiction treatment gap and ensure the millions of Americans living with SUD are able to receive the care they need.