White House Announces New Rules for Methadone Treatment Aimed at Increasing Access

The Biden administration has announced revised federal rules for methadone treatment designed to increase access for more patients with opioid use disorder, NPR reports.

Only one in five people with opioid use disorder gain access to medications to treat their disorder, the article notes. Experts say that is partly due to the fact that methadone is heavily regulated.

Under the revised rules, methadone will continue to be available only through approximately 2,000 federally approved opioid treatment programs (OTPs). But now, patients at those programs will be able to receive more take-home doses of methadone. They will also be able to receive care more frequently after a telehealth consultation. In addition, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants working at OTPs will now be able to order methadone.

Patients will no longer have to experience opioid use disorder for at least one year before receiving methadone.