What the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act Reauthorization Really Means for Addiction Treatment Providers, Insurers, and Patients
As someone who’s been working in the addiction treatment field for years, I’ve seen how laws and regulations can either help or hurt our industry. One of the biggest pieces of legislation in recent history is the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, passed in 2018. (SUPPORT Act Reauthorization) (H.R. 2483) It’s a massive law, but let me break it down in plain English so treatment providers, insurers, and even patients can understand what’s at stake.
What It Means for Treatment Providers
If you operate a treatment center, this law opens up new opportunities to get paid for services that previously weren’t reimbursable.
- Telehealth treatment: Providers can bill Medicaid and Medicare for telehealth visits for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. That means reaching more patients, especially in rural areas.
- Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT): More types of clinicians (like nurse practitioners and midwives) can now prescribe buprenorphine and other MAT medications. This expands your potential patient base.
- Grants and funding: The law created funding for comprehensive recovery centers, workforce training, and peer support programs. That means you can expand your services if you tap into these resources.
Bottom line: For providers willing to adapt, the SUPPORT Act is a net positive. It can increase revenue by opening new billing channels and providing funding for growth.
What It Means for Insurance Companies
Insurers, including both Medicare and Medicaid, don’t get off easy under this law.
- Required coverage: They must cover more treatment options, including MAT and even non-opioid pain therapies.
- Oversight of prescribers: The law forces insurers to monitor for “outlier” prescribers and suspicious billing practices.
- Financial impact: In the short term, insurers may spend more because they’re covering more services. But the idea is that helping people get treatment earlier will cut down on ER visits, overdoses, and costly hospital stays in the long run.
Bottom line: Insurers will likely spend more up front, but they may save money over time if the system works as intended.
What It Means for Patients
At the end of the day, this law was written for the people we serve: the patients.
- Easier access: Patients now have more ways to get care, including telehealth, expanded MAT access, and Medicaid continuity after leaving jail or prison.
- More support services: Peer recovery coaches, sober living best practices, and community-based programs are getting federal attention and funding.
- Less automatic reliance on opioids: Doctors are being pushed to offer non-opioid pain treatments first, which reduces the risk of addiction.
- Help for families: Special provisions are in place for mothers, infants, and families struggling with substance use issues.
Bottom line: Patients benefit the most—they’ll find it easier to get help and to stay in recovery with stronger support systems behind them.
The Big Picture
The SUPPORT Act is far from perfect, but overall, it creates more opportunities for providers, forces insurers to step up, and gives patients more pathways to recovery.
- Providers: Likely to earn more if they expand into telehealth, MAT and recovery supports.
- Insurers: Will spend more now but could save later if outcomes improve.
- Patients: Will have better access, less stigma, and more support in staying sober.
For those of us in the behavioral health and addiction treatment space, the takeaway is simple: this law can be leveraged to grow your programs and strengthen patient outcomes—if you know how to navigate it.
