AHA Friday voiced support for several legislative proposals before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to address the opioid crisis. In a letter to committee leaders, AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels said the association supports proposals to amend the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Disease exclusion; cover IMD substance use disorder treatment for pregnant women up to 12 months after delivery; and establish demonstration projects to study alternative emergency pain management protocols and expand provider capacity. AHA also endorsed draft legislation that would add chronic pain evaluation and management to Medicare’s initial preventive physical examination for new beneficiaries. Other AHA-supported proposals include directing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to standardize electronic prior authorization, providing grants for prescriber education, requiring state Medicaid programs to integrate prescription drug monitoring program use into clinical workflows, and expanding access to telehealth for SUD treatment. The Energy and Commerce Committee has held hearings on dozens of opioid-related bills in its jurisdiction, many of which its Health Subcommittee is expected to mark up on April 25.  

Related News Articles

Headline
Overdose deaths in the U.S. fell 26.9% last year to 80,391, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency reported…
Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Committee today advanced by a 30-24 vote along party lines its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill following a…
Headline
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. May 14 testified on President Trump’s discretionary budget proposal for fiscal year…
Headline
The House Ways and Means Committee today advanced its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill by a 26-19 vote along party lines, following an hours…
Headline
The AHA May 12 responded to the Office of Management and Budget's April 11 request for information on regulatory relief, making 100 suggestions to the Trump…
Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Committee late on May 11 released legislative text in advance of the May 13 markup on its portion of the reconciliation bill.…