As the opioid epidemic in the U.S. continues to kill more and more Americans, the Food and Drug Administration wants to lift the stigma on the idea of using drugs to treat a drug habit.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told a U.S. House committee on Wednesday that his agency is looking at ways to broaden the use of "medication-assisted therapy," or the use of drugs such as methadone and buprenorphine, in conjunction with counseling, to help people overcome addiction to opioids.
Some in the medical community, including former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, have looked down on using drugs to treat addiction to other drugs, instead favoring an approach that emphasizes changing behavior. Insurance companies have also been reluctant to cover drug-assisted therapy.