Methadone is a highly stigmatized medication that is FDA-approved for a highly stigmatized medical condition (OUD). The current landscape of treatment programs that are permitted to dispense methadone (OTPs) is paternalistic, logistically unrealistic on a long-term basis, and not conducive to recovery-oriented lifestyle changes such as maintaining gainful employment. Methadone advocates have been working for decades to make this medication available in non-OTP settings, and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic created the opportunity for an in-vivo method for testing how patients with OUD may fare on methadone with relaxed regulations. The Federal Regulations for Opioid Treatment Programs (42 CFR Part 8) have been updated in response to regulatory changes from COVID-19 (the Final Rule), but stigma and racial inequities regarding methadone treatment remain. The MOTA Act proposes that methadone can be prescribed outside of the OTP setting by physicians who are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry, which could decrease stigma around and increase access to methadone.