Alpha-1 Foundation signs on with over 150 stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of telemedicine to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
February 20, 2025
The Honorable Pam Bondi
Attorney General of the United States
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20530
Dear Ms. Bondi,
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we congratulate you on your appointment as the 87th Attorney General of the United States. We applaud your past leadership on mental health care and substance use disorder issues, particularly your work on the President’s Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. Given your past leadership on telemedicine access to address these concerns, we write today to bring your attention to an important telemedicine policy that is under the Department of Justice’s jurisdiction.
President Trump signed into law the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, which called for the safe access to controlled substances through telemedicine. The Biden Administration recently proposed a telehealth rule that does not follow the intent of this law, given that it proposes arbitrary and burdensome restrictions on access to telemedicine. For example, it includes provisions that would limit patient access through requirements that a clinician provide in-person care rather than creating guardrails that more narrowly address the real-world risks of controlled substance diversion. We urge you to rescind the proposed telemedicine regulation, and work with Congress to ensure ongoing access to virtual prescribing for patients and providers of certain controlled substances.
This work is timely, as patients and providers are currently relying on a temporary flexibility for telemedicine that will end on December 31, 2025. It is no question how impactful telehealth has been for improving patient access to care. As you remember, directing federal agencies to revise regulations and reimbursement policies to allow treatment via telemedicine was a top recommendation of President Trump’s Commission and evidence shows that telehealth supports retention in treatment for opioid use disorder.
For the last five years, telehealth has also been a crucial tool in providing a wide range of other important health services – particularly for those Americans who live in remote areas and locations with provider shortages. For example, as of December 2023, more than half (169 million) of the U.S. population lives in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and broader access to telehealth has been crucial in creating new access to care for these individuals as well as those with other conditions.
Your leadership is needed to direct the Drug Enforcement Administration to withdraw this telemedicine regulation and work alongside Congress and stakeholders to advance a safe and permanent pathway for patients and practitioners to continue to offer care that relies on the prescribing of a controlled substance before the end of 2025. While we recognize the need for protections against diversion, guardrails on remote medical care must appropriately balance this risk without effectively forcing in-person care.
Congratulations again on your appointment as Attorney General of the United States, and thank you for prioritizing this important policy.
Sincerely,
Access TeleCare
AGMP Telehealth
Alliance for Connected Care
Alliance Mental Health
Alpha-1 Foundation
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
American Association for Respiratory Care
American Association of Nurse Practitioners
American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
American Health Care Association
American Medical Informatics Association
American Pharmacists Association
American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP)
American Urological Association
Amwell
Anderson Medical Services
Anderson Mental Health Services
Aragon Mental Health, LLC
Array Behavioral Care
Art Therapy of Fairfield
Ascension
Associated Medical Schools of New York
Association for Mental Health and Wellness
Awaken The Power Therapy, LLC
Beckley Clinical
Big Cities Health Coalition
Bird on a Wire, LLC
Blackbird Health
Brownlee Health PLLC
California Consortium of Addiction Programs & Professionals
CareBridge Medical Group
Center to Advance Palliative Care
Chesapeake Psychological Associates
CirrusMD
CJS Healthcare Advisors
Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP)
Compassion & Choices
Consumer Technology Association
Creating Compassion
CSNK2B Foundation
Cure CMD
Different MHP, PC
Digital Medicine Society (DiMe)
DreamCloud
Essentia Health
Evergreen Psychiatric Services PLLC
Faces & Voices of Recovery
FamilyWell Health
Finding Your Truth Behavioral Health, LLC
Firsthand
Florish Labs
Frontier Psychiatry, Inc.
Gateway Rehabilitation Center
Gilda’s Club South Florida
Go 2 Care
Golden Bear Counseling, LLC
Guide to Wellness
Hazel Health
Heartland Alliance Health
HelloAlpha
Heron Mental Health
Hope for HIE
Human Vitality
IC&RC
Illinois Telehealth Network
IMPOWER
Inseparable
Integrated Telehealth Partners
Interconnected knowing
Intermountain Health
Johns Hopkins University and Medicine
Kimberly Newcombe Counseling
Kismet Health
KMA Services LLC
Kohnlinq, Inc.
Language Strides LLC
Layh and Associates
LeadingAge
Life Coaching and Therapy
Little Otter
LMA Mental Health Services
Logan Wellness Advanced Nursing Practice Corp.
Lotus Flower Wellness
Mae Mental Wellness
Maine Primary Care Association
Manatee
Massachusetts Health Data Consortium, Inc.
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
Midi Health
Miles for Migraine
MindMatters Therapy
Minnesota Hospital Association
Moffitt Cancer Center
Monebo Technologies, Inc.
National Alliance for Care at Home
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Behavioral Health Association of Providers
National Center for Assisted Living
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
National League for Nursing
Nema Health
Nest Collaborative
New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc.
New Perspective Counseling Services LLC
New York State Academic Dental Centers
NIM LONGEVITY
Noma Therapy
North Dakota Health Information Management Association
Partnership to Advance Virtual Care
Peak Mental Healthcare
Pediatric Gastroenterology of Northern Virginia
Pennsylvania Rural Health Association
Prana Wellness, LLC
Renewed Outlook Holistic Mental Health and Wellness LLC
Resolve Psychiatric Services, PLLC.
Rewild PLLC
RxHomeTest
Shadow Mountain Mental Health
Shock Therapy Group, LLC
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
Society for Education & Advancement of Research in Connected Health (SEARCH)
Soulful Recovery
Southern Comfort Psychiatric Services
Spectrum: The Other Clinic
SSM Health
Stanford Health Care
StayWell Health Center
STXBP1 Foundation
Talkiatry
TeleHealthcare Network
The Global Telemedicine Group
The Mindful Oasis
The Taylor-Austin Group, LLC
Themindfullcup, LLC
TheraTec, Inc
Thrive Center LLP
TNacity Blue Ocean, Inc
Transcendental Wellness, PLLC
Transformative Healthcare
Tri-Area Community Health
True North Psychiatry
U.S. Pain Foundation
University of Maryland School of Medicine
University of Michigan Health
University of Mississippi Medical Center
URAC
Vento Healthcare Consulting, LLC
ViTel Net
WeKonnect, LLC
Willow Behavioral Health
Wind River Parkinson’s Group
Workit Health
YesPsych LLC
