SAMHSA's Proposed Updates to Methadone Rules: Will These Changes Do Enough to Expand Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder?

SAMHSA, the federal agency that provides oversight and guidance for methadone treatment of opioid use disorder in opioid treatment programs, has proposed in the Federal Register the first changes to methadone regulation in 20 years. In this webinar, we will seek to explore what these changes are, how they will impact people with opioid use disorder in light of the growing and worsening opioid overdose death crisis, and what more can and should be done to expand access to methadone including the options of methadone availability in primary care and pharmacies. We will explore these policy changes with government officials, methadone-opioid treatment program clinicians, people with lived and living experience of methadone, as well as policy/legal experts.