{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2024/10/issues/health-care/blackburn-whitehouse-colleagues-urge-dea-to-extend-telehealth-flexibilities-for-substance-use-disorder-and-mental-health-treatment", "Blackburn, Whitehouse, Colleagues Urge DEA to Extend Telehealth Flexibilities for Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Treatment", "2024-10-29", "2024", "2024-10", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "NASHVILLE, Tenn. \u2013 U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) led a group of 11 Senators in sending a bipartisan letter calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to extend COVID-era regulatory flexibilities that increase access to telehealth services.\n\nThese rules have been a lifeline for many patients, particularly those in rural and underserved communities, as well as individuals managing mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and chronic illnesses.\n\n\u201cTelemedicine has proven to be an effective tool in reducing barriers to care, supporting those with the greatest need, and bridging the divide between patients and providers,\u201d wrote the Senators.\n\n\u201cAs bipartisan senators committed to safeguarding public health and promoting equitable access to health care, we are concerned that the reported proposed restrictions could have significant unintended consequences, including disrupting access to treatment for substance use disorder,\u201d added the Senators. \u201cWe urge the DEA to continue working with stakeholders on a proposal that prioritizes the public health benefit for continued access to telemedicine, and finalize an additional temporary extension well before the December 31, 2024 deadline so that both providers and patients have certainty that there will be no gap in their ongoing care.\u201d\n\nBACKGROUND:\n\nThe bipartisan letter urges the Biden administration to extend the current flexibilities that safeguard access to necessary care while addressing the risks of prescription medication misuse, and recommends a final rule that creates no new barriers to care.\n\nThe letter highlights that telemedicine has expanded access to life-saving treatments, particularly for opioid use disorder, mental health care, and chronic illnesses.\n\nOverdose deaths involving opioids rose to a peak of 84,181 Americans in 2022 before falling to 81,083 in 2023. Despite strong evidence that medication is the most effective treatment for opioid use disorder, only one in five Americans with opioid addiction receive medication treatment that could help them quit and stay in recovery.\n\nThe Senators\u2019 letter also stresses the importance of ensuring there is no gap in services when the current rules expire at the end of 2024.\n\nTREATS ACT:\n\nIn November 2023, Senators Blackburn, Whitehouse, Murkowski, and Warner reintroduced the Telehealth Response for E-prescribing Addiction Therapy Services (TREATS) Act to increase access to medication for substance use disorder through telehealth.\n\nThe bipartisan legislation would waive regulatory restrictions for accessing care, preserving flexibilities put in place to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nDuring the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services temporarily removed the in-person exam requirement for prescribing medication via telemedicine for people with opioid use disorder. Telehealth flexibilities helped a broad range of patients \u2013 including veterans, those living in rural areas, people experiencing homelessness, individuals in the criminal justice system, and racial and ethnic minorities \u2013 access treatment. The flexibilities are set to expire on December 31, 2024.\n\nThe TREATS Act would make the changes permanent, allowing providers to waive the in-person visit requirement and instead use audio-only or audio-visual telehealth technology. The TREATS Act has 20 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate.\n\nCO-SIGNERS:\n\nThe letter is also signed by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). Representatives Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) are leading a similar effort in the House.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2024/10/issues/health-care/blackburn-whitehouse-colleagues-urge-dea-to-extend-telehealth-flexibilities-for-substance-use-disorder-and-mental-health-treatment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1201149318367243, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}