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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
05/31/2024 01:39 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20230&cosponId=42484
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House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: April 10, 2024 08:50 AM
From: Representative Tarik Khan and Rep. Mike Cabell, Rep. Jose Giral, Rep. Heather Boyd, Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El
To: All House members
Subject: Preventing Opioid Overdose and Supporting Long-Term Recovery
 
Recovery community organizations help individuals and their families through recovery as they navigate to successful recovery and healthy lifestyles. Peer recovery support services are one of the essential ways that recovery community organizations offer assistance. These services provide a continuum of support to those before and when entering treatment, those actively in treatment, and those sustaining recovery post-treatment. 
 
Unfortunately, recovery community organizations are not currently a licensable entity type in Pennsylvania, and individuals with substance use disorder only qualify for peer recovery services through Medicaid if they also have a mental illness. This situation results in a lack of equitable access to support services for people with substance use disorder and a lack of funding and oversight on behalf of the Commonwealth.
 
To engage more Pennsylvanians in need of these lifesaving supports and establish state regulation of recovery community organizations to ensure ethical and effective service delivery, it is paramount that recovery community organizations have licensure, oversight, and reimbursable service delivery throughout the Commonwealth.  
 
To address this coverage gap, we are introducing legislation to require Medicaid coverage and licensure for recovery community organizations providing peer recovery support services. It is crucial to ensure that individuals with substance use disorder have greater access to services that can aid in their recovery, avoid overdose, and best position themselves and their families for long-term success. 
 
Promoting successful long-term recovery in Pennsylvania means safer and healthier communities. Please join us in co-sponsoring this critical legislation.