Removing Medicare and Medicaid funding restrictions on inpatient behavioral health treatment and easing telehealth restrictions could make addiction treatment more accessible, according to the American Hospital Association.
In a letter to U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko and Mike Turner, Lisa Kidder Hrobsky, senior vice president of legislative and political affairs at the AHA, wrote that more work is needed to eliminate barriers to addiction treatment.
In October, Mr. Tonko and Mr. Turner launched an inquiry to hospitals, health plans, pharmacies and other providers aimed at learning their plans to address barriers to accessing medications for opioid use disorder.
In her response, Ms. Hrobsky described several policies that could improve access to addiction treatment.
- Boost reimbursement for behavioral health providers in Medicaid and Medicare.
- The AHA said Congress should repeal the exclusion of Medicaid funding to pay for inpatient behavioral treatment in certain facilities. The institution for mental disease exclusion creates barriers to treatment for adolescents, pregnant women, individuals with unstable housing and individuals with co-occurring addictions, the AHA argues.
- Congress should remove the 190-day lifetime cap on inpatient psychiatric care for Medicare beneficiaries.
- The AHA backs removing in-person requirements for medication assisted opioid-use disorder treatment. Visiting a provider in-person is not an option for patients with mobility issues, transportation challenges or in areas with a shortage of providers, according to the AHA.
- Congress should make permanent requirements for state Medicaid programs to cover medication-assisted treatment for substance use
disorder in emergency departments, the AHA argues. Lawmakers should also expand grant funding for hospitals developing discharge protocols for patients from emergency departments who have overdosed on opioids.
Read the full letter here.