State lawmakers want to wait another year before taking on legislation that would provide more oversight of substance use disorder treatment programs in New Hampshire, disappointing advocates and treatment providers.Despite being introduced with bipartisan support, and getting significantly watered down over the past few months, some lawmakers worried there were still too many unanswered questions about how the proposal would work.
However, Berry added, “I think that certain legislators felt like this bill did not answer or clarify their questions on how best to accomplish our shared goals.”included two ideas: First, the bill created a system that would require any substance use disorder treatment provider to be certified by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Addiction treatment facilities without this certification would not be allowed to operate in the state.
As of now, according to DHHS, the state is aware of 65 outpatient treatment organizations that are registered with Medicaid, and yet, the state of New Hampshire only contracts with nine of them. That means there are 56 facilities providing substance use disorder treatment with no state oversight — and those are just the facilities DHHS is aware of.
The bill passed the Senate, but the House of Representatives voted to refer the bill to interim study. Advocates attempted to revive the proposal by attaching it to another bill that was moving through the state Legislature. But that last ditch effort ended Thursday.Throughout the process, lawmakers raised questions about cost and the staffing that would be required.