The X-waiver has received criticism for years, with one group of doctors writing a 2018 Viewpoint article in JAMA Psychiatry, titled “Buprenorphine Deregulation and Mainstreaming Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: X the X Waiver.”
Deregulating buprenorphine, in the opinion of the authors, might be a way to mainstream an effective treatment for OUD.
Kim Sue, medical director for the National Harm Reduction Coalition, said she is “heartily dismayed and disheartened that something that could begin to save lives immediately is being held up.”
“Buprenorphine is a simple, lifesaving medication that’s currently locked up by the X waiver,” said Sue, an addiction medicine physician, adding the medication is much safer than oxycodone, the opioid chiefly responsible for the overdose crisis in the United States.
Biden has promised to undo any policies left in place by Trump, despite the praise and support of treating doctors or the assistance it can provide to millions of addicts looking to break free from this disease and live.
