Lawmakers push to let telehealth providers keep prescribing stimulants and addiction treatment

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Sen. Mark Warner, shown, is working with Rep. Doris Matsui on extending telehealth options on controlled substances.J. Scott Applewhit/AP

By Lev Facher and Mario Aguilar

Sept. 23, 2024

Two Democratic lawmakers are working to preserve health providers’ right to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth, including stimulants for ADHD and buprenorphine for opioid addiction.

A new bill being drafted by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) comes months before the expiration of temporary waivers first enacted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s during the Covid-19 pandemic. Though the DEA is currently contemplating new regulations that would roll back many of the pandemic-era flexibilities, the lawmakers’ new bill would likely extend the current rules through 2026, according to two lobbyists familiar with the effort.

The flexible rules are set to expire at the end of the year, which telehealth advocates say could threaten patient access to medications, including stimulants for ADHD and common medications used to treat opioid addiction.

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Lev Facher
Addiction Reporter
Lev Facher covers the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis.
Mario Aguilar
Health Tech Correspondent
Mario Aguilar covers technology in health care, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, wearable devices, telehealth, and digital therapeutics. His stories explore how tech is changing the practice of health care and the business and policy challenges to realizing tech’s promise. He’s also the co-author of the free, twice weekly STAT Health Tech newsletter.