Pew Asks Health Subcommittee to Support Addiction Treatment for At-Risk Groups

On April 14, The Pew Charitable Trusts’ substance use prevention and treatment initiative submitted a letter for the record to the leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee health subcommittee in advance of a hearing on substance use and misuse in America in connection with two bills under consideration. The Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act (H.R. 1384) and the Medicaid Reentry Act (H.R. 955) both have the potential to improve access to substance use disorder treatment in the United States. The MAT Act would remove the burdensome requirement that health care providers obtain a special waiver to prescribe buprenorphine, a Food and Drug Administration-approved medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD), and the Medicaid Reentry Act would allow health insurance coverage for incarcerated individuals beginning 30 days before their release so they can start OUD treatment and continue it in their communities.