Bill would align privacy regulations to improve care for SUD patients

Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., this week reintroduced the Protecting Jessica Grubb’s Legacy Act (S. 3374), AHA-supported legislation that would modernize privacy regulations affecting the disclosure of substance use disorder treatment records to better enable health care providers to coordinate care. The bipartisan bill would more closely align 42 CFR Part 2 with HIPAA regulations and strengthen protections against discrimination, while allowing patients to opt-in to share their addiction records in a variety of coordinated care settings. 

The Partnership to Amend 42 CFR Part 2, a coalition of health care organizations including the AHA, applauded the bill. “The Partnership strongly believes that the modernization of privacy regulations and medical records for persons with substance use disorders, while protecting this information with enhanced penalties for unlawful disclosure and use, is a critical component for tackling the opioid crisis and will improve the overall coordination of care in the United States.”