HB 5517, An Act Concerning The Department Of Mental Health And Addiction Services’ Recommendations Regarding Recovery-Friendly Language And Various Revisions To Mental Health And Addiction Statutes

TESTIMONY OF THE CONNECTICUT HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
SUBMITTED TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE

Friday, March 13, 2026

The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) appreciates this opportunity to submit testimony concerning HB 5517, An Act Concerning The Department Of Mental Health And Addiction Services’ Recommendations Regarding Recovery-Friendly Language And Various Revisions To Mental Health And Addiction Statutes.  CHA opposes the bill as written and welcomes the opportunity to work with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) to address the significant contextual errors in several sections of the bill.  We have provided suggested revisions to avoid otherwise highly-problematic, unintended consequences. 

Connecticut hospitals make our state stronger by delivering nationally recognized, world-class care, supporting jobs and economic growth, and serving communities across Connecticut.  Every day, hospitals improve access, affordability, and health equity — providing care to all patients regardless of ability to pay.  At the same time, hospitals invest in their workforce and local communities, even as they navigate significant financial and federal challenges.

HB 5517 prioritizes recovery-friendly language throughout Connecticut laws in an effort to destigmatize substance use care.  CHA supports that goal.  For the most part, these efforts entail updating outmoded terminology for what state law currently calls “substance abuse” to fit more current nomenclature.  Much of this means removing the word “abuse” or similar semantic changes.  Where the changes in the bill are in the context of substance use treatment, the changes mostly work.

But in some instances, the changes are out of context and change the plain meaning of laws erroneously.  This would make several sections of law incorrect and unworkable.  The bill also could have unintended consequences relating to medical records and medical billing; health insurance or health program coding language; and federal grants, laws, or programs.

We have raised several of our concerns with DMHAS and flagged the general problem for the committee.  We welcome the opportunity to work on remedying these problem areas of the bill.

We offer the following list of necessary revisions that we have identified, as well as examples that may need more careful review by DMHAS or other relevant agencies.

Professional Oversight

HB 5517 seeks to alter the criteria for professional oversight for certain licensed healthcare providers.  There is a repeated error that would change the existing terminology of “alcohol and substance abuse” to “alcohol and substance use”.  These changes are not accurate and do not take into account the context in which they are used.  These sections are unrelated to recovery or substance use treatment.  The language changes at the following lines must be rejected, leaving the general statutes’ existing language in place:

Lines: 1414-1415; 1483-1484;1504-1505; 1597-1598;1619-1620; 1644-1645; 1669-1670; 1718-1719.

Medical Records, Billing, and Coding

There are various mandatory billing and coding systems that must be utilized by hospitals and other healthcare providers (and insurers) that perform Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) -compliant billing for Medicare and Medicaid systems and for private insurance claims.  These coding systems use nomenclature the bill seeks to erase, including the terms “detoxification” and “substance abuse,” among others.  To avoid the potential for misalignment with medical recordkeeping, care protocols, or billing details, the following new language should be included at the end of the bill:

(NEW) Nothing in this act shall be construed to affect or influence a healthcare provider’s medical record entries, or a healthcare provider’s or insurer’s care or billing protocols, policies, or terminology.

Specific Concern Regarding Screening

Section 57 of HB 5517 by its plain meaning, would revise the requirements for routine screening for risky behaviors relating to alcohol and drugs (e.g., SBIRT) to instead limit such screening to alcohol and substance use disorder.  If that is not the intention, the language in Section 57 should be revised.   

Examples Of Other Concerns

We question the following parts of the bill, which appear to unintentionally change the context of the underlying law inappropriately:

  • Lines 1401-1403 appear to limit self-help groups that focus on “addictions” exclusively to self-help for substance use disorders, making gambling disorders or compulsive sexual behavior disorders ineligible for this type of self-help group
  • Section 12 appears to limit the data the Department of Children and Families must collect to medically diagnosed parents (as opposed to data showing a history of substance misuse/abuse)
  • We also question whether it would be useful to include a catch-all section that allows for alignment with federal laws, grant language, or contractual language when the context requires it

We look forward to working with the committee and DMHAS on the bill.   

Thank you for your consideration of our position.  For additional information, contact CHA Government Relations at (203) 294-7301.