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Statement of ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray on Enactment of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 24, 2018
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515, jvanness@communityplans.net
STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY ON ENACTMENT OF THE SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS AND COMMUNITIES ACT
WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), today made the following statement upon the enactment of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a bill which is aimed at combatting the opioid crisis and signed by President Trump today:
“This bipartisan bill offers health plans and others new tools to fight the scourge of opioids. It’s a positive step forward, and we applaud leaders in both parties, and in both houses of Congress on not just the outcome but also the process.
“One particularly exciting thing about the bill is that it will shed light on the quality of care delivered across the whole of the Medicaid program, by requiring reporting on a core set of quality measures. This extends a similar approach taken in the Bipartisan Budget Act, which requires reporting on a set of measures for pediatric care. This is a first step toward improving care in Medicaid across the board.
“While enacting and signing this bill is a good first step, there’s much more work to be done. This bill did not address regulations at 42 CFR Part 2, whose stringent requirements have the unintended effect of impeding care coordination and team-based care for opioids. These regulations erect silos around care for people with substance use disorder. It leads to poorer-quality, higher-cost care. It’s easy for patients to fall into the cracks in the system.
“There’s a better way to assure strong patient privacy protections—the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. That would maintain solid patient protections while allowing for better coordination across health care providers. We look forward to working with Congress to further modernize substance use disorder privacy regulations by harmonizing them more closely with the strong protections offered by HIPAA.”
About ACAP
ACAP represents 63 Safety Net Health Plans, which provide health coverage to more than 21 million people in 29 states. Safety Net Health Plans serve their members through Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Marketplace and other health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.
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