FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

December 12, 2023

 Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

Senators Paul, Markey Celebrate Bipartisan Committee Passage of Lifesaving Methadone Expansion Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, issued the following statement after the Senate HELP Committee passed the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA), legislation to allow board certified addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry doctors registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe methadone that patients could pick up at a pharmacy. The bipartisan legislation would represent the first major reform to methadone in half a century and is supported by hundreds of clinicians and medical organizations. 

“Methadone for opioid use disorder is locked behind arcane laws that criminalize and stigmatize people in recovery. The experts and evidence are clear: this outdated system is costing lives, and we should no longer stand by as outdated federal law keeps people from treatment they need no matter where they live. We are pleased that our colleagues are joining with us in passing the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act. Together, we took an essential step toward reducing stigma, expanding access, and saving lives in communities all across the country. We will keep fighting until theModernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act is signed into law.”  

In March, Senators Paul and Markey, along with Representatives Donald Norcross (NJ-01) and Don Bacon (NE-02) introduced their bipartisan and bicameral MOTAA.

The Senate bill is cosponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mike Braun (R-IN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

You can read the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act HERE.

###