On January 21, the Minnesota Society of Addiction Medicine (MNSAM) submitted a letter of support for SF61/HF19, companion bills under consideration by the Minnesota state legislature which would remove the “buy and bill” requirement from all practitioner administered medications for substance use disorders (SUD). Currently, a clinician in Minnesota must first purchase an injectable drug to treat SUD, and then later seek reimbursement from the payer once the drug is administered. However, this imposes significant financial burdens on addiction treatment providers, many of whom operate on low profit margins. This disincentivizes them from prescribing practitioner administered medications while alternatives exist.

The letter stresses that, with the addiction crisis in Minnesota worsening, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians need access to the full range of FDA-approved medications for the treatment of SUD. SF61/HF19 would remove the burdensome “buy and bill” requirement, which would empower clinicians to use the full range of medications to treat OUD, improving patient outcomes and saving lives.

Read the letter here.

Read the bill here.