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Addiction Experts Urge Congress to Confront the Overdose Crisis
ASAM’s 2024 Addiction Medicine Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C., September 24, 2024
In late September, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) hosted its largest Addiction Medicine Advocacy Conference (AMAC) to date in coordination with ACMT, ACAAM, and NBCC. In a show of unity and dire urgency, over one hundred addiction medicine experts convened in Washington, D.C., for the two-day event with a clear mission: urge lawmakers to advance critical legislation to address the ongoing addiction and overdose crisis.
The Perfect Storm
Just days before the conference, a new report revealed that overdose deaths fell by 10%, marking the first decline since 2020. The data sparked hoped, but the sentiment among AMAC attendees was universal: now is not the time to let up on the gas. In fact, it presented a compelling opportunity to show Congress what specific policies have proven successful and therefore should be protected and maintained. This includes telemedicine flexibilities for the initiation of buprenorphine, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic but are currently set to expire in December of 2024.
Furthermore, AMAC advocates were poised to be the final voices in the ears of lawmakers and their staff before they jetted off to their home states for campaign season. The critical moment was not lost upon attendees. They took to the halls of Congress to ask their representatives to confront the ongoing addiction crisis by including ASAM’s policy priorities within the impending year-end legislative package.
The Calm Before
On day one of AMAC, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire met with attendees and delivered in-person remarks outlining her addiction policy priorities. The Senator encouraged the group to share their personal stories and testimonies from the frontlines of the addiction crisis during their upcoming meetings on Capitol Hill. In a recorded video, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy from Louisiana also addressed attendees and discussed The SUPPORT Reauthorization Act, which would expand access to evidence-based addiction care. Together, their speeches demonstrated bipartisan recognition and support for the crucial work of addiction medicine professionals.
U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (NH) addresses AMAC attendees.
Included in the group of attendees were the 2024 AMAC scholarship recipients, who each received a $1,000 grant to fund their travel and attendance at the conference. The scholarship program is designed to provide current or recent fellows in training with the opportunity to get involved in health policy advocacy and use their voices to improve the field of addiction medicine. Congratulations to our scholarship recipients: Drs. Tricia Bautista, Tyler Reese, Chinelo Emeka-Nwonovo, and Nancy Shenoi!
From left to right, Dr. Tyler Reese, Dr. Tricia Bautista, ASAM president-elect Dr. Stephen Taylor, and Dr. Nancy Shenoi.
A Bold Policy Agenda
On day two, over one hundred attendees braved the rain and headed to Capitol Hill for a non-stop day of meetings with lawmakers and their staff. They met with over 155 offices to spread the word about the urgent need to pass legislation that will save and improve the lives of countless individuals.
To confront the addiction and overdose crisis head-on, ASAM advocates urged their representatives to:
- Co-sponsor the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA) (H.R.1359 / S. 644). MOTAA would allow addiction specialist physicians to prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment that can be picked up at community pharmacies, subject to federal rules or guidance on supply of methadone for unsupervised use.
Co-sponsor the Residential Recovery for Seniors Act (H.R. 9232 / S. 4860). This first-of-its-kind legislation would create a Medicare Part A benefit for residential addiction treatment programs meeting nationally recognized standards, categorized as Level 3.1: Clinically Managed Low-intensity Residential Treatment; Level 3.5: Clinically Managed High-intensity Residential Treatment, and/or Level 3.7: Medically Managed Residential Treatment. It would also establish a prospective payment system for these programs, ensuring that reimbursement for covered residential addiction treatment services is based on pre-determined, fixed amounts.
Co-sponsor the TREATS Act (H.R. 5163 / S. 3193). This legislation would make permanent existing audio-video and audio-only telehealth evaluation exceptions to the Ryan Haight Act’s in-person exam requirement for initiating Schedule III-V medications approved for the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD), including buprenorphine.
Advocates’ plea for TREATS and the extension of flexibilities for telehealth initiation of buprenorphine for treatment of OUD resonated with lawmakers. In the days after the conference, a bipartisan coalition of US House lawmakers sent a letter to DEA imploring them to extend these pandemic-era flexibilities without the imposition of in-person visitations requirements or a special registration process. Read ASAM’s statement in response to the letter here.
Left image: ASAM Nevada advocates Dr. Jose Partida Corona (left) and Kate Jessop (right) with U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Maso (center). Right image: ASAM Texas advocates Dr. Nancy Shenoi (left) and Dr. Michael Weaver (right) with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (center).
What’s Next
While the conference has ended, our work continues. ASAM is diligently urging Congress to protect the lives of Americans by including the above legislation within a looming year-end package.
Couldn’t attend this year’s event? Don’t worry, it’s not too late to make your voice heard. Take just two minutes to send an email to your representatives asking them to support this must-pass legislation here.
