Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, proponents of this legislation argue that taking away patients' privacy rights related to substance use disorder treatment records is okay because we would be applying the HIPAA standard that applies to other sensitive health conditions like HIV, but I strongly disagree. Individuals with substance use disorder face risk because of their medical conditions that those with other medical conditions do not. According to SAMHSA, those negative consequences include loss of employment, loss of housing, loss of child custody, discrimination by medical professionals and insurers, arrests, prosecution, and incarceration. Unlike other medical conditions, including HIV, you can be incarcerated, legally fired, and denied visitation with your children due to your substance use disorder. So let me paint this picture with a few examples. A 20-year-old pregnant woman in Wisconsin voluntarily went to a hospital to seek treatment for addiction to the opiate OxyContin. Rather than providing treatment, the hospital called State authorities to report this woman. She was taken into custody and held for several weeks before a judge ordered her released. Another example provided to the committee from a provider in Maryland explained: Some time ago, we had a young lady in our methadone maintenance program who committed suicide. She had turned her life around.…”