"Private Equity's Expansion into Methadone Clinics"

Private equity firms have acquired stakes in nearly one-third of all methadone clinics in the U.S., leading to outsize control of the addiction treatment industry and sparking a debate over access to addiction medications. Large clinic chains backed by private equity are lobbying to preserve their exclusive right to dispense methadone, while lawmakers and public health experts advocate for expanded access to bypass the clinic system. Critics argue that the clinics are motivated by profits and are resisting reform that would allow trained addiction doctors to prescribe methadone directly to patients with opioid addiction.