Updated 1/22/2021

The previously announced, Trump Administration, HHS practice guidelines regarding a new exemption from certain X-waiver certification requirements for certain physicians never posted to the Federal Register-- which means the exemption never went into effect.  The Biden Administration has put a temporary freeze on matters not yet posted to the Register, pending further review.  As soon as ASAM receives further information from federal agencies about all of this, we will inform our members.

In the meantime, on Capitol Hill, ASAM continues to advocate for a complete elimination of the X-waiver while ensuring controlled medication prescribers have baseline education on addiction – that will require a legislative “fix.”

Posted 1/15/2021

We have some important news to share regarding buprenorphine prescribing from HHS. For physicians, the requirement for a separate X-Waiver to prescribe Buprenorphine/naloxone will no longer be required. The patient limit for physicians without the X-Waiver will be 30 patients but it is unclear at this time what it will mean for X-waived providers. This does not apply to PA's or NP's. ASAM plans to put out a statement in the next few days when more details are available.

Sincerely,

David Galbis-Reig, M.D., DFASAM
President, Wisconsin Society of Addiction Medicine

HHS Expands Access to Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder