Overdose fatalities are now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. While the U.S. has started to turn the tide on the number of new opioid addictions, there is still much work to do to help those who are already addicted. Statistically just 1 in 5 people who are suffering with addiction are getting the treatment they need. Congressman Paul Tonko believes when an addict has a moment of clarity and is ready to ask for help, access to that care should not be a barrier.

Tonko is part of a bipartisan group backing the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act. In this podcast Congressman Tonko talks with Diane Donato about the irony of having medical professionals who can prescribe medication for pain who are then not able to prescribe medication to treat addiction to pain-killers. The MAT Act would expand the number of medical professionals who can treat addiction by removing some of the bureaucracy surrounding buprenorphine. Buprenorphine has widely been used to treat addiction, but requires a special DEA waiver for medical professionals to be allowed to prescribe it to treat addiction disorders.