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.