Senator Markey's Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA) would expand access to methadone for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD)

Washington (October 17, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, today released the following statement after the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study showing methadone is more effective than buprenorphine and naloxone for opioid use disorder (OUD).

"The study released today demonstrates that methadone is an essential and effective treatment for opioid use disorder. In fact, more people stayed in treatment when on methadone compared to buprenorphine and naloxone. Amid tens of thousands of people dying every year from opioid overdose, this study reiterates that it is unacceptable to keep this evidence-based, life-saving medication behind antiquated guardrails. My Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act would take a carefully considered step forward in expanding access to this medication by allowing the most highly trained addiction physicians in the country prescribe methadone to their patients that could be picked up at a pharmacy. To stand in the way of its passage is to keep in place outdated guardrails that cost people's lives. Congress must pass the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act."

In March 2023, Senators Markey and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with Representatives Norcross and Bacon, introduced their bipartisan and bicameral MOTAA, which would represent the first major reform to methadone in half a century and is supported by hundreds of clinicians and medical organizations. In December 2023, MOTAA passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In December 2022, Senator Markey secured his bipartisan Opioid Treatment Access Act (OTAA)-legislation that reduces wait times for patients qualifying for methadone medication treatment and expands access to methadone clinics-into the end-of-year omnibus spending package. That same month, Senator Markey also applauded proposed changes by the Department of Health and Human Services to remove barriers to OUD treatment, such as allowing people to take home doses of methadone medication, which are key provisions included in the OTAA.

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