Statement on Passage of IMD Care Act and Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act

Tom Nickels

Executive Vice President

American Hospital Association

June 20, 2018

“The House of Representatives today passed two significant, AHA-supported bills that would help hospitals and health systems provide improved care to patients with substance use disorders. The IMD CARE Act (H.R. 5797) as amended would expand access to needed care by allowing adult Medicaid beneficiaries to receive treatment for opioid use disorder in larger freestanding residential treatment facilities. Additionally, AHA applauds the adoption of the Rush Amendment, which would expand Medicaid coverage for treatment in these facilities to persons with cocaine use disorder. The Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act (H.R. 6082) would enhance care coordination and improve patient safety by aligning the outdated 42 CFR Part 2 regulations with HIPAA, allowing the responsible sharing of substance use disorder treatment records for purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations.    

“America’s hospitals and health systems remain on the frontlines of the fight against the opioid crisis and continue to provide the safest and highest quality care for patients. We look forward to consideration of these bipartisan bills in the Senate, and we urge all members of the Senate to support them.”  

Contact:         Arika Trim (202) 626-2319 atrim@aha.org

Marie Johnson, (202) 626-2351 mjohnson@aha.org

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About the AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.