ASAM Statement on Passage of the SUPPORT Reauthorization Act

Rockville, MD (Dec. 1, 2025) - In response to the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 2483) being signed into law, Stephen M. Taylor, MD, MPH, DFAPA, DFASAM, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), issued the following statement: 

“The SUPPORT Reauthorization Act contains several critical provisions to bolster America’s response to the addiction and overdose crisis. It reauthorizes the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program (STAR-LRP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers grant program, and it expands SAMHSA’s Minority Fellowship Program to include physicians who specialize in addiction medicine.

However, reductions in expert staff at SAMHSA invite legitimate concerns over how, and when, provisions within SUPPORT will reach addiction medicine clinicians. These programs risk being reauthorized in name only if SAMHSA is not fully equipped to administer them.  

And let’s be clear: this bill alone is not a cure-all for America’s addiction and overdose crisis. Persistent Medicare coverage gaps and outdated prescribing restrictions on methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD) still make it challenging for addiction specialist physicians to deliver quality addiction care to Americans in need.

ASAM continues to urge Congress to pass the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA), which would allow addiction specialist physicians to prescribe methadone for OUD and have it dispensed from community pharmacies. Methadone is highly effective in treating patients with OUD involving fentanyl, yet red tape prevents addiction specialists from prescribing this FDA-approved medication.

In addition, seniors struggling with addiction still lack Medicare coverage for 24-hour residential care, which may be the best fit for some. Passing the Residential Recovery for Seniors Act (RRSA) would close this dangerous coverage gap.

Addiction specialists are confronting an unpredictable illicit drug supply without full access to the treatment tools that can prevent overdose and save lives. Congress must show that it’s truly committed to protecting the health of Americans by passing MOTAA and RRSA.” 

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Media Contact

Sarah Shelson

301-547-4110 

sshelson@ASAM.org