On October 18, 2024, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and Deputy Administrator Dan Tsai urging the agency to address the critical shortage of addiction medicine specialists in the U.S. to improve access to substance use disorder (SUD) services for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) patients, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Chair Wyden’s request comes as CMS prepares to release guidance — mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 — that is aimed at enhancing the mental health and SUD provider workforce for Medicaid and CHIP. In the letter, Wyden urges CMS to include education, training, recruitment, and retention strategies to support addiction specialists in these programs, with a focus on bolstering access to SUD services in rural and underserved communities and address workforce shortages. 

Impact on General Dentistry: The AGD has been actively involved with addressing this problem through the organization’s work to become an approved provider of training for prescribers of certain controlled substances. We will continue to monitor this issue and urge Congress to support passage of the SUPPORT Act to ensure that the AGD can provide important training for those dentists treating patients with SUD.