MATE Improvement Act

This bill expands the types of organizations that may provide required training for practitioners registering with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to dispense (i.e., prescribe or administer) certain controlled substances.

Current law requires health care practitioners to register with the DEA and complete a one-time training on substance use disorders from specified entities in order to dispense schedule II-V controlled substances. Practitioners who graduated within the last five years from specified types of schools and whose curriculum included similar training on substance use disorders are exempt from having to receive this additional training.

The bill adds several organizations (e.g., the American Academy of Family Physicians) to the list of entities that may provide the required one-time training for physicians or other practitioners. It also expands the types of practitioners who are exempt from this training requirement to include those who graduated from schools of podiatric medicine or schools of pharmacy within the last five years and received similar training as part of their curriculums.

The bill applies retroactively, taking effect as if enacted on December 29, 2022.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service.