USA. Reducing Federal Bureaucratic Barriers to Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder and Empowering State Innovation
USA. Reducing Federal Bureaucratic Barriers to Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder and Empowering State Innovation
Purpose
Methadone treatment (MT) is a lifesaving treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), decreasing the risk of all-cause mortality and opioid-related overdose by 50% among people with OUD.1 Longer retention on MT is predictive of better health outcomes.2 As the US continues to face the opioid overdose epidemic, largely driven by high potency synthetic opioids (HPSO), expanding access to MT is critical. People who use HPSO may be retained in treatment longer with MT, as compared to other FDA-approved medications for OUD (MOUD).3 Yet, in 2021 fewer than 500,000 people received MT,4 despite an estimated 7.6 million people in the US having OUD in 2019.5 This public policy statement recommends reducing federal bureaucratic barriers to MT, allowing states to design their own safe and effective models to improve access to MT to meet the needs of their patient populations. (ASAM – American Society of Addiction Medicine, Public Policy Statement, 17.07.2025)