Biden kills Trump plan on opioid-treatment prescriptions
The Biden administration said Wednesday that it is canceling a last-minute plan by the Trump administration to let more physicians prescribe an opioid-treatment drug, despite exhortations from lawmakers and physician groups to keep it.
“On January 14, 2021, HHS announced forthcoming Practice Guidelines for the Administration of Buprenorphine for Treating Opioid Use Disorder,” the White House’s drug policy office said in a message obtained by The Washington Post. “Unfortunately, the announcement was made prematurely. Therefore, the Guidelines previously announced cannot be issued at this time.”
The Biden administration also vowed to continue working to “increase access to buprenorphine, reduce overdose rates and save lives” in the announcement, which was also posted on the website of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.
The Trump administration’s plan was plagued by legal and operational problems, including a failure to get necessary clearance from the White House budget office, said two officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.
“The Biden-Harris administration absolutely supports broader access to medication-based treatment for opioid use disorder, and is working to find ways to lift burdensome restrictions on medications for opioid use disorder treatment,” said a spokesperson for the White House’s drug policy office.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/27/biden-kills-buprenorphine-waiver/
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