Addiction Medicine Experts Call on Congress to Expand Access to Lifesaving Addiction Care

To treat addiction and save lives, physicians urge lawmakers to improve access to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder and close gaps in Medicare coverage

WASHINGTON - (September 16, 2025) - Today, addiction specialist physicians and other healthcare professionals are meeting with federal lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advance urgently needed legislation to address the addiction and overdose crisis, save lives, and help Americans with addiction achieve recovery.

This effort is part of the Addiction Medicine Advocacy Conference (AMAC), hosted by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) in coordination with the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and the American College of Academic Addiction Medicine (ACAAM). AMAC convenes addiction medicine leaders to advocate for policies that help Americans with addiction access evidence-based treatment.

One such treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), methadone, is uniquely effective in addressing the fentanyl crisis. However, outdated restrictions limit methadone dispensing to federally regulated opioid treatment programs, which approximately 80% of U.S. counties don’t have, making this treatment inaccessible to many. Additionally, Medicare does not cover residential addiction treatment, creating a cost barrier for seniors with addiction who may benefit from a 24-hour care regimen. 

AMAC attendees are calling on Members of Congress to pass legislation that modernizes methadone treatment for OUD and that covers residential addiction treatment under Medicare. Specifically, attendees urge lawmakers to:

• Re-introduce and co-sponsor the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA) (S.644 in the 118^th Congress). MOTAA would allow board-certified addiction specialist physicians to prescribe methadone for OUD treatment that can be picked up by a patient at community pharmacies, subject to federal rules or guidance on supply of methadone for unsupervised use.

   

• Re-introduce and co-sponsor the Residential Recovery for Seniors Act (H.R.9232 / S. 4860 in the 118^th Congress). This legislation would create a Medicare Part A benefit for residential addiction treatment programs that meet nationally recognized standards, categorized as Level 3.1: Clinically Managed Low-intensity Residential Treatment; Level 3.5: Clinically Managed High-intensity Residential Treatment, and/or Level 3.7: Medically Managed Residential Treatment. It would also establish a prospective payment system for these programs, ensuring that reimbursement for covered residential addiction treatment services is based on pre-determined, fixed amounts.
  

New data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that most Americans with addiction don’t receive the care they need. In 2024, 48.4 million people aged 12 or older had a substance use disorder in the past year, but only 5.9 million people (12%) received treatment.

“We have effective tools to treat addiction, save lives, and help Americans achieve recovery – but those tools are meaningless if patients can’t access them,” said Stephen M. Taylor, MD, MPH, DFAPA, DFASAM, president of ASAM. “Advancing smart policies, such as modernizing access to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder and covering residential treatment programs under Medicare, will empower doctors and patients to pursue the treatment options that are best for them. Congress must act to heal our communities, prevent more lives from being lost, and ensure all Americans have a chance at recovery.”

Media Contact

Sarah Shelson

301-547-4110 

sshelson@ASAM.org