American Telemedicine Association Pens Letter to Congress and the White House

According to a Sept. 10 press release, more than 330 stakeholder organizations asked Congress and the White House to intervene to ensure ongoing access to remote prescribing of controlled substances. The letters were co-led by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and ATA Action.

The press release says that “Stakeholders anticipate, based on current reporting, that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will dramatically limit virtual prescribing, either through new regulations or by allowing the existing flexibilities to expire at year-end.”

Further, “Specifically, the letters to House and Senate leaders urge Congress to include a two-year extension of pandemic-era remote prescribing flexibilities for controlled substances in an end-of-year legislative package. The letter to the White House recommends that the Biden Administration work with the DEA and other relevant agencies to use existing authorities to extend these flexibilities for two years, providing the DEA with additional time to fulfill its congressional mandate to establish a special registration pathway that balances access to medically necessary care with appropriate enforcement.”

Kyle Zebley, ATA’s senior vice president, public policy, and executive director, ATA Action was quoted in the release saying that “This is a predictable and preventable crisis that is looming come January 1 and we are quickly running out of time to save countless patients from being abandoned, left without lifesaving clinically appropriate care. With each day, we are losing precious time the DEA needs to properly develop a rule that appropriately permits and regulates the prescribing of controlled substances through telehealth without jeopardizing the health and safety of Americans, especially those in underserved communities.”