Proposed DEA rule would impact patient access to telehealth services post-pandemic

Telemedicine and telehealth services were vital during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for patients at-risk of infection who needed refills of prescriptions.

Lawmakers in the last year or so have worked to encourage continued support for telehealth and telemedicine services, including U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia.

He released a statement yesterday after a report that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is working on a proposed rule that would significantly impact patients’ ability to access certain prescriptions through telemedicine.

“As currently reported, the DEA’s proposal provides an even worse solution than the one put forth under the first proposed rule. This arcane approach would represent a significant step back for patients who rely on telemedicine for critical medications, and yet another failure by the DEA to establish a meaningful special registration, which Congress has repeatedly directed it to do for over a decade. The pandemic proved that the vast majority of health care providers can successfully provide quality health care through telehealth. We don’t need an arbitrary new set of regulations – we just need DEA to set up the minimum training requirements for providers and a special registration that allows the DEA to do its job to monitor telemedicine prescribing of these medications and catch bad actors. If the DEA is unable to work with health care providers and finalize a workable proposal soon, Congress should be prepared to take action so patients aren’t left without care on January 1,” Warner said.

Since 2008, Congress has directed the DEA to set up a special registration process, an exception process under the Ryan Haight Act, a law that regulates the online prescription of controlled substances. The special registration process would open the door for quality health care providers to evaluate a patient and safely prescribe medications via telehealth, as was done for years during the pandemic.

Warner, a former tech entrepreneur, has been a longtime advocate for increased access to telehealth. He is an original cosponsor of the CONNECT for Health Act, which would expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities permanent, improve health outcomes and make it easier for patients to safely connect with their doctors.

Warner previously wrote to both the Biden and Trump administrations to urge the DEA to finalize regulations that allow doctors to prescribe controlled substances through telehealth. He also sent a letter to Senate leadership during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, calling for the permanent expansion of access to telehealth services. In September 2023, Warner led bipartisan partners to share serious concerns about an earlier version of DEA’s proposed rule, which would also have seriously curtailed access to prescriptions through telemedicine.

In 2018, Warner included a provision to expand financial coverage for virtual substance use treatment in the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018. In 2003, then-Gov. Warner expanded Medicaid coverage for telemedicine statewide, including evaluation and management visits, a range of individual psychotherapies, the full range of consultations, and some clinical services, including in cardiology and obstetrics. Coverage was also expanded to include non-physician providers. Among other benefits, the telehealth expansion allowed individuals in medically underserved and remote areas of Virginia to access quality specialty care that is not always available at home.