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AMA Opioid Task Force releases recommendations for policymakers
On May 30, the AMA Opioid Task Force released new recommendations for policymakers to eliminate substance abuse and pain treatment barriers and make additional efforts to end the opioid epidemic.
“We need help from policymakers to ensure more people have access to treatment ... we cannot enforce parity laws, or eliminate administrative barriers without the help of state and federal authorities, and that’s what is limiting treatment now.” Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA, president-elect of the AMA and chair of the Opioid Task Force, said in the press release.
The recommendations ask policymakers to remove prior authorization, step therapy and inappropriate administrative barriers that delay or deny FDA-approved medications used in medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. The recommendations also ask policymakers to support assessment, referral and treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders and to enforce state and federal laws that require insurance parity for mental health and substance use disorders.
The recommendations also call for policy makers to remove administrative barriers to pain care and rehabilitation programs, support maternal and child health through increased access to evidence-based treatment, preserve families, and ensure policies are nonpunitive.
The task force asked policymakers to support reforms in the civic and criminal justice systems to help ensure access to high-quality, evidenced-based care, including medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
“The original task force recommendations [from 2015] called on physicians to accept the responsibility to take a leadership role in ending the epidemic,” Harris said. “Yet, more people are dying each year, emphasizing the need for policymakers to protect patients’ access to evidence-based care for pain and opioid use disorder.”– by Erin Michael
Disclosure: Patrice Harris is president-elect of the AMA.