CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey joined a multistate bipartisan coalition in calling for federal officials “to permanently extend telehealth flexibilities after the expiration of the public health emergency for prescribing buprenorphine, one of three FDA-approved medications for treating opioid use disorder.”
“The opioid epidemic has claimed so many lives, not only in West Virginia but the nation,” Morrisey said. “The need to ensure access to treatment for those with substance use disorders has never been greater, so effective strategies, such as telemedicine, are critical to reducing the number of overdose deaths."
The November 16 letter was addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, assistant secretary for mental health and substance use for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Morrisey
The United States is in the grips of an opioid crisis, with more than 100,000 people dying due to overdose last year alone. State attorneys general are on the front lines fighting the crisis to protect Americans from deadly synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Interdiction efforts alone will not end the crisis; therefore, attorneys general are urging for this treatment to remain easily accessible for those in need.
In March 2020, the DEA allowed audio-visual telemedicine services to prescribe all Schedule II-V controlled substances, including buprenorphine. This practice remains in effect until the COVID-19 public health emergency expires.
“This expiration has the potential to cut off the estimated 2.5 million U.S. adults who use buprenorphine from accessing treatment for opioid use disorder via telemedicine,” the AGs wrote. “We join a chorus of advocates, addiction treatment providers, medical practitioners, recovery groups, public health experts and members of the House of Representatives’ bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force in urging this administration to permanently extend these telehealth flexibilities for buprenorphine.”
The current allowance for telehealth services also expands access of buprenorphine to patients who may have previously struggled to receive the medication. The attorneys general wrote: “An estimated 28 million Americans live more than 10 miles and about 3 million live over 30 miles from a buprenorphine provider. Today, the delivery of care for buprenorphine treatment has shifted significantly to telehealth, making it more accessible than ever for individuals to access the treatment they need.”
Morrisey joined the North Carolina- and Florida-led letter with his counterparts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.