NJ SCR81

Requests the President and Congress to amend federal Medicaid provisions that prohibit federal reimbursement for inpatient and outpatient substance use disorder rehabilitation and treatment programs

Addresses the Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion, a federal law since 1965 that prohibits Medicaid payments for most patients ages 21-64 in facilities with more than 16 beds that primarily treat mental diseases, including substance use disorders

Notes that current federal waivers allowing expanded substance use disorder treatment coverage are lengthy to obtain and limited in duration, delaying access to needed treatment

Proposes potential federal actions including repealing the IMD exclusion, excluding substance use disorder from the mental disease definition for IMD classification purposes, or increasing the bed limit for IMDs

Directs copies of the resolution be sent to the President, Vice President, congressional leadership, all New Jersey members of Congress, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services