Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I stand in opposition to H.R. 5797, the IMD CARE Act. I think we all agree that we need all the tools available to us to address the opioid crisis. Inpatient treatment centers that focus on the treatment of behavioral health needs of patients with substance use disorder are part of that. Congress must do what we can to ease access to care. But I believe this legislation, as drafted, is misguided. It is also counterproductive and an ineffective use of scarce Medicaid dollars. But more importantly, it may undermine the ongoing efforts to improve the full continuum of care for people with substance use disorders. This policy spends more than $1 billion in Medicaid to pay for a policy that is far narrower in both scope and flexibility than what many of our States already have and any State could do through Medicaid substance use disorder waivers. In addition, as countless data has indicated, there are many gaps in treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries with substance use disorder. Yet this bill does nothing to incentivize States to provide the full continuum of care. Community-based services are necessary for both people not treated in residential inpatient facilities and also for people who leave residential inpatient treatment and need community-based services to continue their treatment and recovery.…”