MGMA and coalition partners urge DEA to expedite release of telehealth rule (April 2, 2024)

April 2, 2024 

The Honorable Anne Milgram
Administrator
United States Drug Enforcement Administration
8701 Morrissette Drive
Springfield, VA 22152

Dear Administrator Milgram:

Thank you for your leadership and engagement in public listening sessions last fall related to telemedicine flexibilities and for your actions to ensure continued patient access to care delivered through telemedicine in advance of final telemedicine regulations this year.

Now that the first quarter of 2024 has passed, we write to request that DEA expedite the release of a revised proposed rule to permit and regulate the prescribing of controlled substances through telehealth. This rule is crucial for access to mental health, substance use disorder, and other telehealth care. As you know, the current flexibilities for telehealth expire at the end of this year; we request the updated rules be proposed immediately for the following reasons:

• Given the complexity of these issues and the significant stakeholder interest (as demonstrated through more than 38,000 public comments received by DEA on proposed rules), DEA must plan to ensure stakeholders have adequate time to provide feedback on any policy proposal.
• If DEA were to create a special registration process for telehealth prescribers, as proposed by both DEA and many stakeholders, significant operational lead time would be needed for DEA, practitioners, pharmacies, and other related service providers to implement the new special registration process and comply with other potential operational requirements and guardrails.

View the full letter