Recovery Access Coalition Launches to Advocate for Digital Therapeutics

A group of addiction and mental health advocacy organizations have formed the Recovery Access Coalition, an initiative that will address barriers to accessing digital therapeutics that have been authorized by the FDA to treat substance use disorder.

Among the coalition’s member organizations:

• Advocates for Opioid Recovery
• Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation
• Kennedy Forum
• National Council for Behavioral Health
• Shatterproof
• Young People in Recovery
• Pear Therapeutics, which is also a project sponsor

>> BHE PODCAST: Pear Therapeutics president and CEO Corey McCann, MD, PhD, discusses digital therapeutics and the Recovery Access Coalition.

The Recovery Access Coalition is pushing for Medicare coverage of digital therapeutics at the federal level, Medicaid at the state level, and coverage by the commercial health insurance market. With the COVID-19 pandemic still surging and social distancing measures in place, the coalition noted in a news release announcing the project’s launch that digital therapeutics can facilitate treatment remotely, keep patients better connected with caregivers, and empower patients’ self-assessment skills and help them to better navigate care.

“Addiction is a disease that thrives in isolation,” Patrick J. Kennedy, former U.S. Rep. and founder of the Kennedy Forum, said in the release. “Because of social distancing, COVID-19 has already put millions who live in recovery from substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder, at extreme risk. The inability to regularly access traditional forms of care will only compound the problem—thus an urgent need for more remote treatment options.”