Portman Praises HHS Decision to Allow More Doctors to Prescribe Drug to Treat Addiction
CINCINNATI, OH – U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) issued the following statement praising the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to lift the requirement that physicians receive a burdensome “X” waiver before prescribing patients battling addiction with medicationassisted treatment (MAT) like buprenorphine to help in their recovery:
“The ongoing COVID19 pandemic has resulted in a heartbreaking surge in overdose deaths, which is why it is essential that we remove outdated barriers to care so that patients fighting addiction can get the treatments they need. To that end, I am pleased that HHS has announced that it is ending the requirement for physicians to obtain an ‘X’ waiver before being allowed to prescribe buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder. This waiver has for too long placed unnecessary restrictions on health care professionals being able to provide patients fighting addiction with the medicationassisted treatment that many need to overcome addiction and achieve long-term recovery. Now, all physicians will be able to more easily prescribe patients with this important medication as part of their treatment plan.
“HHS lifting the ‘X’ waiver requirement builds on policy changes included in my bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which raised the number of patients to which a physician was allowed to provide MAT from 30 to 100, and gave nurse practitioners and physician assistants the ability to administer this kind of essential care under a physician’s supervision. Our upcoming CARA 2.0 legislation, which builds on the successes of CARA, includes a provision to permanently remove the ‘X’ waiver, as well as implement strong physician education requirements so that physicians are trained to respond to addiction issues broadly.
“I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to make sure those on the ground, our community leaders, first responders, and family members have the support and funding they need to continue their work fighting this epidemic. In the new Congress, we have a unique opportunity to work together in a bipartisan way and I believe that CARA 2.0 can help us strengthen our efforts to combat this epidemic.”