Friday, July 18, 2014CLEVELAND -- U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan, D-13, and Marcia L. Fudge, D-11, today announced legislation that establishes a five-year demonstration project to expand cost-effective, community-based treatment options to address the heroin/opiate epidemic. The Breaking Addiction Act of 2014 (CLICK HERE) was introduced by Fudge and co-sponsored by Ryan.
The legislation, announced at a news conference here, would enable participating states to receive federal reimbursement for Medicaid services provided to eligible in-patients who receive treatment for chemical substance abuse at a community treatment facility. It partially waives what is known as the Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion. The 1965 law that created Medicaid excludes states from receiving federal reimbursement for services provided in an IMD with more than 16 patient beds, according to Ryan's office. But Congress did not foresee nearly 50 years ago that this exclusion would impede communities’ ability to respond to the rapid escalation of heroin addiction and abuse of opiate-based prescription painkillers.
“As Democratic co-chair of the Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus, I understand the damage substance abuse inflicts upon the state of Ohio and our nation," Ryan said in a statement. "It is estimated that substance abuse costs the United States in excess of $600 billion annually in health, crime and lost productivity costs -- and this is nothing compared to the toll it takes on the families, friends, schools and communities affected."
The legislation directs the secretary of Health and Human Services to prepare a report at the conclusion of the project to evaluate the impact of permitting federal reimbursement for addiction treatment on a full range of health care items and services, including costs, access to care, readmissions and emergency care.
“Fatal drug overdoses now exceed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio," said Fudge. "By removing an outmoded barrier to funding for substance abuse treatment, we can go a long way toward reversing the heroin epidemic and saving lives. I am also confident that data collected from this demonstration project will show community treatment will lower the bill to taxpayers for overall health care and decrease law enforcement costs associated with opiate addiction.”
SOURCE: Office of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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