# This Congress Has One Last Chance to Unlock Methadone Treatment

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/this-congress-has-one-last-chance-to-unlock-methadone-treatment/
- Published: 2026-11-09T19:58:52+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T20:24:58+00:00
- Original publisher: Reason (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://reason.com/2026/11/09/this-congress-has-one-last-chance-to-unlock-methadone-treatment/
- Topics: Government, Health, Medicine, Politics

## Key points

- Congress could widen access to methadone treatment.
- Only 15.7 per cent of affected Americans received medication.
- Around 80 per cent of US counties lack a treatment programme.

## Summary

The article argues that Congress could expand access to methadone before the 119th Congress ends by passing the bipartisan Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act 2.0. The bill would let some addiction specialists prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder and allow community pharmacies to dispense it, changing rules that currently restrict most addiction treatment with methadone to certified clinics.

The article cites research finding that methadone and buprenorphine are associated with lower overdose risk, while methadone may keep some patients in treatment longer, particularly those with high opioid tolerance. It says about 4 million Americans aged 12 or older had opioid use disorder in the previous year, but only 15.7 per cent received medication. The US has 2,110 certified treatment programmes and roughly 60,000 retail pharmacies; around 80 per cent of counties have no treatment programme.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.