Last week the Senate passed its version of an opioid bill (H.R. 6), which amended the House-passed version. The two versions now must be reconciled in a conference committee. Among the contentious issues are the extent to which Medicaid should cover treatment for adults with substance-abuse disorders in “institutions for mental disease” (IMDs) (see Congress Nears Deal on Key Opioid Provision (Politico Pulse, 9/25/18), and whether patient privacy protections should be should be loosened so that health care providers can share information among themselves and with patients’ families. See AMA Urges Congress Not to Loosen Restrictions on Privacy for Patients with Addiction History.
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