Executive Summary
September is Recovery Month — a month to honor the more than 20 million Americans in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). Evidence-based treatment is the first step toward recovery, and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are proven to significantly reduce the risk of overdose and support those who need them on the road to recovery.
The National Health Law Program and 165 other organizations are dedicated to advocating for increased access to buprenorphine, an FDA-approved MOUD, through passage of the bipartisan Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act.
Buprenorphine has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of overdose death, and it keeps thousands of people with OUD from returning to illicit drug use. The medication is a proven and evidence-based form of recovery, but onerous, outdated federal rules have stigmatized this medication and made it unavailable and inaccessible to millions of people in the United States — many of them residents of rural areas. If passed, the MAT Act will fix this barrier, making buprenorphine more available and accessible for Americans with OUD.
