Congress urged to include Part 2 bill in final opioid package; new IMD bill

More than 100 organizations, including the AHA, yesterday urged House and Senate leaders to include the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act (H.R. 6082) in the final agreement on opioid legislation. H.R. 6082, which passed the House in June, would improve information sharing by aligning 42 CFR Part 2 regulations governing the confidentiality of substance use disorder treatment records with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act for purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations. “Modifying Part 2 to ensure that HIPAA-covered entities have access to a patient’s entire medical record will improve patient safety, treatment and outcomes across the care delivery spectrum, enhancing the entire opioid package,” the organizations said.
 
In addition, Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) yesterday introduced the Improving Coverage for Addiction Recovery Expansion Act (S. 3462), bipartisan legislation that would allow states to receive federal matching funds for services provided to an adult Medicaid beneficiary aged 21 to 64 with an SUD in an Institution for Mental Disease with more than 16 beds for up to 90 days per year, among other provisions. Similar legislation (H.R. 5797) passed by the House in June and incorporated into H.R. 6, the House’s comprehensive opioid legislation, would limit federal matching funds to opioid use disorder and cocaine addiction services provided in an IMD for up to 30 days per year. The Senate sponsors hope to include the more expansive benefit in the final negotiated opioid legislation.