Dear Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone:
The undersigned organizations, representing a cross-section of medical specialties, write to
reiterate our strong support for protecting our patients by aligning 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2) with
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for the purposes of treatment,
payment, and health care operations (TPO). In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed
legislation (H.R. 6082) to align Part 2 and HIPAA by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 357-We urge leadership to honor the House’s strong vote and the broad support for H.R.
6082 within the healthcare community by ensuring its inclusion in any final legislation
negotiated by the House and Senate.
Modifying Part 2 to ensure that HIPAA-covered entities have access to a patient’s entire medical
record will improve patient safety, treatment, and outcomes across the care delivery spectrum,
enhancing the effectiveness of the entire opioid package. The House and Senate bills contain
myriad initiatives designed to enhance the treatment and coordination of care for persons with
substance use disorder. However, the success of some of these new initiatives, such as
Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers and expanding Medicare coverage of certain services
furnished by opioid treatment programs, will be hampered without harmonizing Part 2 with
HIPAA. As we build out an addiction treatment infrastructure, it is imperative to integrate
substance use disorder, mental health, and primary care services to produce the best patient
outcomes and establish the most effective approach to caring for people with complex health
care needs.
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