ASAM Applauds Members of Congress Urging Appropriations for Education, Training, and Loan Repayment Opportunities in Addiction Medicine

On April 27th, members of Congress sent two Dear Colleague letters to the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies to underscore the need for sufficient appropriations for education, training, and loan repayment opportunities to expand the nation’s addiction treatment workforce. In one letter, members of Congress drew attention to the shortage of addiction medicine fellowships accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), in a context where too few physicians have the requisite knowledge and training to prevent, diagnose, and treat addiction. The second letter urges the provision of at least $50 million for the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program (STAR-LRP). STAR-LRP provides up to $250,000 in loan repayment for qualifying addiction treatment providers working in areas of high substance use disorder need. Expanding fellowship and loan repayment opportunities for healthcare professionals is crucial to closing the nation’s large addiction treatment gap, and ASAM applauds these Congressional leaders.