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PUBLIC POLICY UPDATES

Legislators Expected to Vote on Final Opioid Bill Starting Tomorrow


Posted on: 9/27/2018

ACMA is requesting your immediate assistance in contacting your representatives via email and social media as soon as possible urging them to vote for H.R. 6.

H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, seeks to resolve the nation’s opioid addiction epidemic by providing more than $8 billion in federal resources to those professionals on-the-ground working to combat the disease.

For your convenience, we have created content below that you can simply copy and paste into your email and social media platforms. Our window of time to do this is short as the House of Representatives is expected to vote tomorrow, and the Senate is expected to vote next week. Please take a moment to support this important legislation.

Thank you for your support and dedication!

CONTENT FOR EMAIL:

Dear Member of Congress,

I am writing to you today, as a constituent and a Case Manager, to urge your support for H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which would seek to resolve the nation’s opioid addiction epidemic by providing more than $8 billion in federal resources to those professionals on-the-ground working to combat the disease. As you well know by now, last year in the United States, more than 70,000 Americans died of a drug overdose, the vast majority of those occurred as a result of an opioid-based drug.

Case management in hospitals and health care delivery systems represents a wide range of services and diverse methods of organizational structure. The concept of case management conveys different meanings to individuals and to organizations. The American Case Management Association (ACMA), of which I am a member, describes case management in the following context: “Case Management - in hospital and health care systems is a collaborative practice model including patients, nurses, social workers, physicians, other practitioners, caregivers and the community. The Case Management process encompasses communication and facilitates care along a continuum through effective resource coordination. The goals of Case Management include the achievement of optimal health, access to care and appropriate utilization of resources, balanced with the patient’s right to self-determination.”

It is with those stated goals in mind that I am supportive of H.R. 6, and am urging your support as well. H.R. 6 increases access to care for patient’s suffering from Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) by providing states with more than $1 billion in targeted response grants, as well as by increasing federal reimbursement through Medicare and Medicaid for treatment programs. Importantly, the bill takes the historic step of partially repealing the long-standing Institutions of Mental Disease exclusion that prohibits federal reimbursement through Medicaid for inpatient treatment services at facilities with more than 16 inpatient beds. By allowing the federal government to cover Medicaid recipients in those for 30 days of inpatient treatment, the bill would instantly give access to SUDs treatment to millions of low-income Americans. Additionally, H.R. 6 would increase utilization of modern resources through expansions in coverage for telehealth-oriented treatment services, including the through the electronic prescription and administration of Medically-Assisted Treatment (MAT), which has proven to be a highly effective treatment option. Furthermore, the bill would also increase care coordination efforts by promoting electronic medical record adoption in the behavioral health community and by including Jesse’s Law into the broader package. Jesse’s Law will require the federal government to develop best practices for displaying SUDs-related information in a patient’s medical record and model training programs to better train and educate providers, patients and families regarding the permitted uses and disclosures of patient records related to treatment for substance use disorders.

As you can see, H.R. 6 would dramatically increase the size of the federal government’s response against the opioid epidemic. It is imperative that you vote in favor of the legislation this week.

Thank you for your time and attention on this important matter.

CONTENT FOR 3 TWITTER POSTS:

46 people die every day because of opioids. HR 6 increases treatment access and practitioner coordination. We need to pass HR6 to combat the opioid crisis! #ACMA #PassHR6 #opiodcrisis #healthcare

8 Billion in investment. 150 pieces of legislation. It’s time to end the opioid crisis. #ACMA #PassHR6 #opioidcrisis #healthcare

Opioids have touched everyone in some way or another. HR 6 can help prevent that for our Future. #PassHR6 #ACMA #opiodcrisis #healthcare

CONTENT FOR FACEBOOK POST:

46 people a day died from overdosing on heroin or prescription drugs. Over the past year, Congress has put together a bill that increases care coordination within the healthcare system, increases access to treatment by expanding coverage through Medicare and Medicaid, and increases practitioner utilization of telehealth strategies to remotely treat individuals affected by SUDs. Senator/ Representative _____ please commit to passing HR 6. Every vote counts. Help us end the opioid crisis. Pass HR 6.

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