A person with addiction holds a bottle of buprenorphine, a medicine that prevents withdrawal sickness in people trying to stop using opiates, as he prepares to take a dose in a clinic in Olympia, Wash (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption
The settlement deal with Indivior, which makes an addiction treatment medication called Suboxone, ends a legal battle with 41 states and the District of Columbia. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Registered nurse Jamie Simmons speaks with a patient during an appointment at the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center in Massachusetts. The patient, whose first name is Kim, says buprenorphine has helped her stay off heroin and avoid an overdose for nearly 20 years. Jesse Costa for KHN hide caption
Jameson Rybak, son of Jim and Suzanne Rybak of Florence, S.C., struggled with opioid addiction and died of an overdose on June 9, 2020 — three months after he left a hospital ER because he feared he couldn't afford treatment. Gavin McIntyre/Kaiser Health News hide caption
A January report found that 40% of U.S. counties don't have a single health care provider approved to prescribe buprenorphine, a medicine integral to helping many patients beat opioid addiction. Permitting more-distant doctors to evaluate patients online and prescribe the medicine is a welcome advance, say addiction specialists. Ian Hooton/Getty Images/Science Photo Library hide caption
Dr. Peter Grinspoon was a practicing physician when he became addicted to opioids. When he got caught, Grinspoon wasn't allowed access to what's now the standard treatment for addiction — buprenorphine or methadone (in addition to counseling) — precisely because he was a doctor. Tony Luong for NPR hide caption
Suboxone Film strips dissolve when placed under the tongue and are used to treat patients suffering from opioid dependency. The medication is made by Indivior, which was spun off from U.K.-based Reckitt Benckiser in 2014. Charles Krupa/AP hide caption
Shannon McCarty in her new apartment in Everett, Wash. Shannon was a meth and heroin user, but is in recovery with the help of a police program that connects people who use drugs with services. Dana McGlocklin for NPR hide caption
Barb Williamson runs several sobriety houses in Pennsylvania, commercially run homes where residents support each other in their recovery from opioid addiction. Initially, she says, she saw the use of Suboxone or methadone by residents as "a crutch," and banned them. But evidence the medicines can be helpful changed her mind. Kimberly Paynter/WHYY hide caption
A doctor at a Boston Medical Center clinic counsels a patient who has become addicted to opioid painkillers, and wants help kicking the habit. Addiction specialists say drugs like suboxone, which mitigates withdrawal symptoms, can greatly improve his odds of success. Suzanne Kreiter/Boston Globe via Getty Images hide caption
When used in conjunction with counseling, Suboxone strips placed under the tongue can help ease opioid cravings and other withdrawal symptoms in people trying to quit a heroin or painkiller habit, doctors say. Jake Harper/Side Effects Public Media hide caption
A demonstration dose of Suboxone film, which is placed under the tongue. It is used to treat opioid addiction. M. Spencer Green/AP hide caption
As many as 70,000 more people could get access to office-based treatment for opioid use now that the administration has raised the cap on the number of patients each doctor is allowed to treat. Jamie Grill/Getty Images hide caption
A man in Mount Airy, Md., shakes Suboxone pills from a bottle in late March. Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption