Opioid Crisis Is Worse Despite Congress’ $20 Billion Effort To Stop It

DO THEY EVEN CARE? –

Oct. 22, 2023 – When that option ended on Sept. 30, the two states which used it — South Dakota and Tennessee — steered their Medicaid recipients with substance use disorder toward treatment facilities not subject to the “IMD exclusion,” state officials told POLITICO.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee proposes to repeal the 1965 rule in the SUPPORT Act reauthorization bill it approved in July. The bill from the panel’s Health Subcommittee chair, Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), also would prohibit states from disenrolling people from Medicaid when they are incarcerated, so their coverage would automatically resume upon release, in an attempt to provide them with health care access at a time when they’re most vulnerable to dying from an overdose.

The bill would also permit pregnant people in pretrial detention to retain their Medicaid coverage.

“We were hoping to get this moving forward faster,” Guthrie said. “But we’re now currently where we are,” adding that he wanted to see new legislation “as soon as possible.”