ASAM Signs Letter Urging the ONDCP to Clear Policy Barriers to Sustainable Implementation of CM Interventions

On December 19^th, ASAM and other organizations signed a letter spearheaded by the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School that urged the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to clear policy barriers to sustainable implementation of contingency management (CM) interventions. In the wake of a multi-faceted stimulant use crisis that disproportionately harms communities of color, in recent decades, CM has emerged as the most effective evidence-based practice to combat stimulant use disorder. Specifically, the letter urges the ONDCP to issue guidance on safeguards and best practices against fraud and abuse in CM programs, to work with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) to remove ineffective and unnecessary limits to federally-funded programs, to work with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to issue guidance differentiating between CM incentives and income, and to work with agencies that administer public benefits to issue guidance differentiating between CM incentives and income or assets for the purposes of benefits eligibility.

Read the letter here.