BCHC and others ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to maintain current telemedicine flexibilities
February 2025
A proposed rule by the Drug Enforcement Administration would limit access to telemedicine – the Big Cities Health Coalition and over 150 other organizations are asking for this rule to be rescinded.
President Trump signed into law the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, which called for the safe access to controlled substances through telemedicine. The Biden Administration recently proposed a telehealth rule that does not follow the intent of this law, given that it proposes arbitrary and burdensome restrictions on access to telemedicine.
The signatories of this letter are asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to rescind the proposed telemedicine regulation and work with Congress to ensure ongoing access to virtual prescribing for patients and providers of certain controlled substances.
This work is timely, as patients and providers are currently relying on a temporary flexibility for telemedicine that will end on December 31, 2025. It is no question how impactful telehealth has been for improving patient access to care; directing federal agencies to revise regulations and reimbursement policies to allow treatment via telemedicine was a top recommendation of President Trump’s Commission and evidence shows that telehealth supports retention in treatment for opioid use disorder.
For the last five years, telehealth has also been a crucial tool in providing a wide range of other important health services – particularly for those Americans who live in remote areas and locations with provider shortages. For example, as of December 2023, more than half (169 million) of the U.S. population lives in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and broader access to telehealth has been crucial in creating new access to care for these individuals as well as those with other conditions.
While there is a need for protections against diversion, guardrails on
remote medical care must appropriately balance this risk without effectively forcing in-person care.
