April 12, 2024

Manchin, Capito Urge U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services To Fully Implement Jessie’s Law

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra urging him to fully implement Jessie’s Law. This bipartisan legislation helps ensure best practices are in place so physicians and other medical professionals have knowledge of a patient’s history with substance use disorder when determining appropriate medical care.

Jessie’s Law was included in the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, which was signed into law by President Trump in 2018. Since then, HHS has partially responded to this directive; however, it has not released guidance for including a patient’s history of substance use disorder in their electronic health record. In February of this year, HHS finalized the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records rule, which aligns the law governing privacy records for patients with substance use disorder with other health privacy laws. As this rule is now finalized, it is past time to fully implement Jessie’s Law.

“In March 2016, we lost a young woman with great potential named Jessica Grubb,” the Senators wrote in part. “Her death was tragic, but preventable… As you know, both Jessie’s Law and the Legacy Act were enacted to reduce the burdens associated with accessing treatment and to improve care coordination, while protecting patient privacy in order to ensure we are addressing the drug epidemic to our fullest potential… We look forward to hearing from you on your plans to fully implement the law.”

Jessie’s Law is named after Jessica Grubbs, a West Virginian who died from substance use disorder after a medical provider prescribed her opioid pills following a surgery. After battling substance use disorder for seven years, Jessie was sober and focused on making a life for herself in Michigan. She was training to run in a marathon and had to undergo surgery for a running related injury. Her parents told her doctors and hospital personnel that she was recovering from substance use disorder; however, after Jessie’s surgery, the discharging doctor, who said he didn’t know she was recovering from substance use disorder, sent her home with a prescription for 50 oxycodone pills. This legislation requires HHS to develop and disseminate standards for hospitals and medical professionals to effectively display a patient’s past history of opioid use disorder when the patient provides that information.

The full text of the legislation is available here.

The full letter is available below or here.

Dear Secretary Becerra,

In March 2016, we lost a young woman with great potential named Jessica Grubb. Jessie was a great student, a loving daughter and sister, and an avid runner. She was also recovering from an opioid use disorder.

When she had surgery for an infection related to a running injury, her parents were there to take care of her and both Jessie and her parents told her doctors and hospital personnel that she was in recovery and was not to be prescribed opioids. Unfortunately, Jessie’s discharging physician missed this note in her medical record and sent her home with a prescription for 50 oxycodone pills. Her parents talked to her on the phone when she got home, but that was the last time. She passed away that night in her sleep. The temptation was too great for her, as it would be for so many in recovery. Her death was tragic, but preventable.

Jessie’s story inspired us to act to save lives and prevent families like Jessie’s from feeling that grief. We introduced Jessie’s Law, a simple bill to honor Jessie that would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and disseminate standards for hospitals and medical professionals to effectively display a patient’s past history of opioid use disorder when the patient provides that information. This will help ensure that medical professionals are able to take this into account when working to provide medically appropriate care just as they would any allergy or other life-threatening condition.

Jessie’s Law was included in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which was signed into law by President Trump on October 24, 2018. Since then, HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has partially responded to this directive, however it has not released best practices for including a patient’s history of opioid use disorder in their electronic health record. In February of this year, HHS finalized the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records rule, which better aligns the rule governing privacy records for patients with substance use disorder, known as 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2) with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Previously there had been concern with best practices and how to address Part 2 confidentiality, however with this rule being finalized, we feel that it is now past time to fully implement Jessie’s Law.

Since the passage of SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the COVID-19 pandemic helped exacerbate the substance use crisis in the United States. According to recently published data, drug overdose deaths reached record levels in 2021; totaling nearly 107,000 people and reversing the progress that was made as recently as 2019. As you know, both Jessie’s Law and the Legacy Act were enacted to reduce the burdens associated with accessing treatment, and to improve care coordination, while protecting patient privacy, in order to ensure we are addressing the drug epidemic to our fullest potential.

We appreciated HHS fully implementing the Legacy Act and look forward to securing Jessie’s legacy by fully implementing Jessie’s Law, to ensure a tragedy like Jessie’s never happens again. We look forward to hearing from you on your plans to fully implement the law.