AHIP has addressed letters to the sponsors of Senate and House bills that would aligning existing federal regulations (42 CFR Part 2) on the confidentiality of substance use disorder (SUD) information with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s existing privacy requirements for uses and disclosures of individuals’ health information for treatment, payment, and health care operations.
Our letter emphasizes that health insurance providers are strongly committed to improving care coordination, patient safety, and health outcomes for patients struggling with opioid addiction and other substance use disorders (SUDs).
In explaining the need for this legislation, we state: “Your bill would require that the medical records of patients with SUDs be treated the same as the medical records of patients with other chronic illnesses. By ensuring appropriate access to a patient’s entire medical record (including addiction-related information), this legislation would ensure that health care professionals and health insurance providers have all the information necessary for safe, effective, high quality treatment and care coordination to address the full scope of a patient’s health care needs.”
The House bill (H.R. 2062) was introduced by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK). The Senate bill (S. 1012) was introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).