Senator’s bipartisan bill ensures Arizona patients in rural and tribal communities have access to medication-assisted treatment for substance abuse disorders
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema introduced the bipartisan Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act which increases access to medication-assisted substance abuse treatments for Arizonans in need.
“Enabling doctors to prescribe proven treatments ensures Arizonans combatting substance abuse get the care they need,” said Sinema.
Current law places restrictions on medications prescribed for substance abuse treatment, requiring medical providers to apply for a Drug Enforcement Administration waiver, undergo additional training, and limit medication-assisted treatment to 30 patients a year. Providers shared with Sinema that increasing access to medication-assisted treatment, which are evidence-based and shown to be effective, is the best way to increase patients’ access to treatment.
Sinema’s bipartisan bill providers doctors and other providers with more pathways to ensure Arizona patients, especially those in rural areas, have easy access to medication-assisted treatment.
Sinema has been a champion to increase access to medication-assisted treatment for Arizonans suffering from substance abuse disorder in rural areas. Sinema cosponsored the bipartisan SUPPORT Act, which is now law, in the 115th Congress. This law increases access to medical treatment for opioid addiction and strengthen efforts to combat the opioid crisis.