Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB594 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R4794 ALB-D
2	2	By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 594
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Women's Health Program.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 32.0248, Human Resources Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Subsections (a-1), (b-1), (b-2), and (f-1) to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a-1) The department shall provide adequate resources to
13	13	increase marketing and outreach in order to maximize enrollment of
14	14	and continuous utilization by potentially eligible women in the
15	15	demonstration project. Programs and services designed to reduce the
16	16	number of unintended pregnancies and lower the rates of sexually
17	17	transmitted diseases shall be maintained at a level at least equal
18	18	to the level at which these services were provided on September 1,
19	19	2009.
20	20	(b-1) The department shall identify women potentially
21	21	eligible for participation in the demonstration project following
22	22	pregnancies for which the women received benefits through the
23	23	medical assistance program and assist those women in establishing
24	24	eligibility for the demonstration project after eligibility for the
25	25	medical assistance program terminates. Participation in the
26	26	demonstration project shall begin as soon as possible after
27	27	eligibility for the medical assistance program terminates.
28	28	(b-2) The department shall modify any applicable
29	29	administrative procedures to ensure that a woman described by
30	30	Subsection (b-1) maintains continuous eligibility for any services
31	31	provided by both the medical assistance program and the
32	32	demonstration project during the transition from participation in
33	33	the medical assistance program to participation in the
34	34	demonstration project.
35	35	(f-1) There is a rebuttable presumption that a physician who
36	36	contracts with the demonstration project to provide care or
37	37	services to participants in the demonstration project is not liable
38	38	if a participant does not seek medical care after the physician, in
39	39	the physician's reasonable medical opinion, advises the
40	40	participant to do so. This rebuttable presumption exists only in
41	41	relation to the condition or circumstances for which the
42	42	participant was advised to seek care.
43	43	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Human Resources Code,
44	44	is amended by adding Section 32.02481 to read as follows:
45	45	Sec. 32.02481. WOMEN'S HEALTH PROGRAM OUTREACH PILOT
46	46	PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "women's health program" means the
47	47	demonstration project established under Section 32.0248.
48	48	(b) The department, in conjunction with a health plan and
49	49	hospital in Bexar County, shall develop an outreach pilot program
50	50	to assist women described by Section 32.0248(b-1) in establishing
51	51	eligibility for the women's health program. As part of the outreach
52	52	pilot program, the department shall:
53	53	(1) perform an initial screening to determine
54	54	eligibility for the women's health program; and
55	55	(2) ensure that a woman described by Section
56	56	32.0248(b-1) receives information regarding benefits available
57	57	through the women's health program, notification of potential
58	58	eligibility, an application form for the women's health program,
59	59	information on where and how to receive application assistance, and
60	60	a list, updated on a quarterly basis, of women's health program
61	61	providers in the county.
62	62	(c) A hospital or health plan participating in the outreach
63	63	pilot program that contracts with an entity that provides
64	64	information and services to participants in the medical assistance
65	65	program may modify the information and services provided by that
66	66	entity to ensure that potentially eligible women are provided the
67	67	information and services required under this section.
68	68	(d) The outreach pilot program must include monitoring,
69	69	evaluation, and reporting. The department shall use information
70	70	provided by the hospital or health plan participating in the
71	71	outreach pilot program to report to the legislature regarding the
72	72	following:
73	73	(1) the costs and benefits of establishing a statewide
74	74	outreach program; and
75	75	(2) problems encountered during the implementation of
76	76	the outreach pilot program and recommendations for solutions.
77	77	(e) This section expires September 1, 2011.
78	78	SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act
79	79	a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
80	80	federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
81	81	the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
82	82	authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
83	83	waiver or authorization is granted.
84	84	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.