We are passing along to you two new legislative proposals that should interest you greatly! They represent the most sweeping and impactful legislation on addiction treatment in many years. Both the Senate bill (SB 1138) and the House version (HB 0823) are effective July 1, 2016 and are aimed primarily (but not exclusively) at the addiction treatment industry. The laws also apply to many other kinds of providers (e.g. those who treat mental illnesses), and have the following features:
Protect Certain Patients
Patients with a “disabling condition” are intended to be protected by the laws. The term includes not only people being treated for substance abuse, but also those with a mental illness, developmental disability, chronic physical illness or disability. People with an “educational deficiency” are also protected by the new laws. Hence, the new law will impact physicians and therapists of all kinds. This sort of overbreadth is typical of laws that are written without the balanced approach that’s attained when all industry players participate in the legislative process.
Prohibit Marketing Practices
Affected marketing practices include statements and information disseminated to the public (oral or written) which are intended to market or advertise or entice someone to receive substance abuse treatment or a recovery support program. Presumably now, people will become liable for what they say. This sort of remarkably broad and constitutionally pertinent restriction will be interesting to watch and should spawn a spate of litigation and agency action.Continue reading