News
ASAM Names New President: Stephen M. Taylor, MD, MPH
Dr. Taylor to focus on bolstering patient access to quality addiction care, growing addiction specialty workforce
Rockville, MD (April 28, 2025) - Today, Stephen M. Taylor, MD, MPH, DFAPA, DFASAM, began his two-year term as president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). Dr. Taylor will lead the society of addiction treatment professionals through an evolving addiction policy landscape, workforce challenges and shortages, and emerging innovations in care delivery, with the goal of making addiction prevention, treatment, remission, and recovery accessible to all.
"As ASAM president, I’m committed to supporting our members as we work together to improve the health and well-being of all people living with addiction, their families, and their communities,” said Dr. Taylor. “We are at a pivotal moment in addiction medicine, with a duty to advocate for the needs of our patients, champion high-quality, evidence-based addiction care, and protect vital programs that connect people to lifesaving addiction treatment services, including Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion.”
Over the next two years, Dr. Taylor will focus on advancing ASAM’s quality and science initiatives and national advocacy priorities, with an emphasis on driving innovation in addiction medicine, supporting individualized treatment pathways, and strengthening the continuum of care for all.
Key advocacy initiatives include growing the addiction specialty workforce, permitting qualified practitioners to prescribe and pharmacies to dispense methadone for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), establishing Medicare coverage for evidence-based residential addiction treatment programs, and preserving federal funding for Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion health care, including addiction treatment services.
“The recent drop in overdose deaths is encouraging, but the fight to treat addiction and save lives continues,” added Dr. Taylor. “We must ensure that every American living with addiction can access the lifesaving, evidence-based care they need.”
Dr. Taylor served as ASAM’s president-elect from 2023-2025. Board-certified in general psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and addiction medicine, Dr. Taylor brings over 30 years of experience focused on preventing and treating addiction and co-occurring disorders. He currently serves as the chief medical officer of a provider focused on delivering outpatient treatment for patients with addiction and mental health conditions. Previously, he spent 16 years as the Medical Director of the Player Assistance and Anti-Drug Program of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
Dr. Taylor began his term as president following the conclusion of ASAM’s 56th Annual Conference, which was held in Denver, Colorado, from April 24-27.
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About the American Society of Addiction Medicine
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), founded in 1954, is a professional medical society representing over 8,000 physicians, clinicians, and associated professionals in the field of addiction medicine. ASAM is dedicated to increasing access and improving the quality of addiction treatment, educating physicians and the public, supporting research and prevention, and promoting the appropriate role of physicians in the care of patients with addiction. For more information, visit www.ASAM.org.
Media Contact
Sarah Shelson
301-547-4110
sshelson@ASAM.org