How the U.S. is sabotaging its best tools to prevent deaths in the opioid epidemic Lev Facher By Lev Facher

https://www.statnews.com/2024/03/05/opioid-addiction-treatment-methadone-buprenorphine-restrictions/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9S-W2tyzFFkKvpHL3rUUEGf3Xv5b2j1OT3td8DmzF3AVozHbJuoEbp17RAtXllBXN8B2ZjC_LRoN8KRUz8DIWgYG8yvw&_hsmi=318674733&utm_content=318674733&utm_source=hs_email When it comes to drugs like methamphetamines and cocaine, highly effective medications like those for opioid addiction don’t exist. But behavioral incentives to treat a meth addiction is settled science, and offering financial rewards like gift cards to people who can show they’ve reduced or stopped their meth use is particularly effective, STAT’s Lev Facher reports. So is the U.S. pursuing this sort of high-quality treatment? Not really. The Biden administration has expressed support for these types of rewards, known officially as contingency management. But there’s a longstanding $75 annual cap on how much money can be given to patients in programs funded by select federal programs, and the Biden administration has refused to raise it. https://www.statnews.com/2024/08/05/meth-addiction-contingency-management-incentives/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--qkSF5Nu5JspqUftHpj77Nj6h2_l3BPneJ3T20hCWnmWx9AO5kia57aVRUsfk-Ru37Suzgp0HW4jtJa76iRh9rJN-F4Q&_hsmi=318674733&utm_content=318674733&utm_source=hs_email