Official Summaries

Telehealth Response for E-prescribing Addiction Therapy Services Act or the TREATS Act

This bill permanently allows health care practitioners to prescribe certain controlled substances for treating substance use disorders via telehealth without evaluating the patient in person.

Generally, a health care practitioner may not prescribe a controlled substance via telehealth unless they first conduct an in-person medical evaluation. Federal regulations currently provide a temporary exception to this requirement, allowing practitioners to prescribe schedule II-V controlled substances for legitimate medical purposes (such as treating substance use disorders) via telehealth without an in-person evaluation. However, this temporary regulatory flexibility expires on December 31, 2025.

The bill permanently allows practitioners to prescribe schedule III-V controlled substances for the treatment of a substance use disorder via telehealth without conducting an in-person evaluation. In such instances, a practitioner may conduct a telehealth evaluation using audio-only or audio and video equipment.  

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1627 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1627

    To amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow for the use of 
telehealth in substance use disorder treatment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2025

Mr. Norcross (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
   in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow for the use of 
telehealth in substance use disorder treatment, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Telehealth Response for E-
prescribing Addiction Therapy Services Act'' or the ``TREATS Act''.

SEC. 2. TELEHEALTH FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT.

    Section 309(e)(2) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
829(e)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)(i)--
                    (A) by striking ``at least 1 in-person medical 
                evaluation'' and inserting the following: ``at least--
                                    ``(I) 1 in-person medical 
                                evaluation''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(II) for purposes of prescribing 
                                a controlled substance in schedule III, 
                                IV, or V that has been approved by the 
                                Food and Drug Administration for the 
                                treatment of a substance use disorder, 
                                1 telehealth evaluation of the patient; 
                                or''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) The term `telehealth evaluation' means a 
                medical evaluation that is conducted in accordance with 
                applicable Federal and State laws by a practitioner 
                (other than a pharmacist) who is at a location remote 
                from the patient and is communicating with the patient, 
                or a practitioner who is treating the patient, using a 
                telecommunications system referred to in section 
                1834(m) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) 
                that includes audio-only or audio and video equipment 
                permitting two-way, real-time interactive communication 
                between the distant site practitioner and the patient, 
                or the practitioner who is treating the patient.''.
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