Federal Government Permanently Extends Addiction Treatment Through Telehealth

As of Dec. 31, 2025, it’s easier for Americans with opioid use disorder to get access to critical medications through telehealth visits, thanks to a pandemic-era rule that the federal government has made permanent. This change helps to ensure that more people can get the treatment they need, even if they cannot routinely see their health care providers in person. Of an estimated 5 million American adults with OUD, only 1 in 5 receive medication—the most effective therapy available—to treat it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government temporarily allowed telehealth flexibilities for addiction treatment so that patients could practice social distancing rather than go to a provider’s office. Studies show that as a result of these flexibilities, more patients started taking medication to treat OUD and that telehealth may even have reduced the risk of a patient discontinuing treatment. In January 2025, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services jointly issued a final rule that allows patients to get buprenorphine prescriptions through audio-video or audio-only telehealth visits without first seeing their provider in person. The decision followed feedback given during a public comment period and listening sessions in 2023 and 2024, with the agencies concluding that “the benefits of increasing access to buprenorphine outweigh any added risk of diversion.” (Diversion occurs when people obtain such drugs indirectly or purchase them illegally to use or sell them to others.)

[January 15, 2026]