Kern County Times

WASHINGTON – On June 14, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22) and Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) introduced the bipartisan Combatting Substance Use Disorder Act. The bill makes permanent a reporting requirement on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and prevention services in the Medicaid beneficiary population. This data, commonly referred to as the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) SUD Data Book, is critical in informing action on how to best address this public health crisis.

“Sadly, many Americans suffer with their mental health and substance use disorders,” said Congressman Valadao. “We can’t take action to fix an issue if we don’t have a full and accurate picture of how big the issue is. My bill helps to inform Congress, public health experts, and Medicaid providers about how to best meet the needs of individuals struggling with substance abuse.”

"I'm proud to be supporting this legislation to extend key provisions of the SUPPORT Act to make sure we have the best data available on substance use disorders, and mental health conditions,” said Congressman Garcia. “This will help make sure we have the tools to provide the best possible treatment to people who need it, and to continue to address the mental health crisis."

Background: 

In 2018, Congress passed the SUPPORT Act, which directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to annually publish granular, behavioral health data on the prevalence of substance use disorders in the Medicaid beneficiary population, as well as the treatment services provided by Medicaid. This new dataset – commonly referred to as the Medicaid TMSIS Data Book – has helped close the data gap in our understanding of Medicaid’s role in covering such services. Disorders being tracked include alcohol, opioids, tobacco, cannabis, and stimulants. Treatments tracked include counseling, detox, emergency services, inpatient care, medication management, consultations, and peer/community support.  The requirement for States and the Center for Medicaid & Medicaid Services to continue reporting and publishing this data will expire this year if Congress does not act to make this reporting requirement permanent. 

Original source can be found here.