Attorney General Miyares Joins Bipartisan Multistate Effort Urging DEA to Extend Telehealth Capabilities for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Richmond, Virginia — Attorney General Jason Miyares is joining 44 other attorneys general to urge the Drug Enforcement Administration and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to permanently extend telehealth flexibilities for prescribing buprenorphine, an opioid use disorder treatment. Buprenorphine is one of three medications that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients suffering from addiction. As a condition of the COVID-19 public health emergency, in March 2020 the DEA allowed audio-visual telemedicine services to prescribe buprenorphine. However, this condition is set to expire when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. Without the proposed permanent extension, the current expiration of the public health emergency could cut off an estimated 2.5 million U.S. adults who utilize the opioid use disorder treatment.

"The need to ensure medical resources for Virginians battling opioid abuse has never been greater. Enabling creative, effective strategies, such as verified telemedicine, provides those suffering with potential treatment options which is especially important to those living in underserved areas,” said Attorney General Miyares.

More than 100,000 Americans died in the United States 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 available for those in need.

The attorneys general of the following states and territories signed on to the letter led by Florida and North Carolina: 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, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

To read the full letter, click here.

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