A number of federal and state policy changes have been put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. In this brief, we explore these policy changes and recommend that policymakers keep particular changes in place beyond the emergency period. Specifically, policymakers should make permanent (1) federal policies allowing buprenorphine initiation via telemedicine and state policies lifting buprenorphine prescribing restrictions that go beyond federal requirements; (2) federal policies allowing opioid treatment programs to dispense more doses of methadone and state policies lifting methadone dispensing restrictions; and (3) the prohibition of Medicaid prior authorization requirements for MOUD.
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