By: Eiland (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire) H.B. No. 3459
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2011;
May 3, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 19, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0;
May 19, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3459 By: Hinojosa
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the containment of costs incurred in the correctional
health care system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 499, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 499.055 to read as follows:
Sec. 499.055. POPULATION MANAGEMENT BASED ON INMATE HEALTH.
The department shall adopt policies designed to manage inmate
population based on similar health conditions suffered by inmates.
The policies adopted under this section must maximize
organizational efficiencies and reduce health care costs to the
department by housing inmates with similar health conditions in the
same unit or units that are, if possible, served by or located near
one or more specialty health care providers most likely to be needed
for the treatment of the health condition.
SECTION 2. Section 501.063, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 501.063. ANNUAL INMATE FEE [COPAYMENTS] FOR [CERTAIN]
HEALTH CARE [VISITS]. (a) An inmate confined in a facility
operated by or under contract with the department, other than a
halfway house, [who initiates a visit to a health care provider]
shall pay an annual health care services fee [make a copayment] to
the department in the amount of $100 [$3]. The inmate shall pay
[make] the annual fee [copayment] out of the inmate's trust fund.
If the balance in the fund is insufficient to cover the fee
[copayment], 50 percent of each deposit to the fund shall be applied
toward the balance owed until the total amount owed is paid.
(b) [The department may not charge a copayment for health
care:
[(1) provided in response to a life-threatening or
emergency situation affecting the inmate's health;
[(2) initiated by the department;
[(3) initiated by the health care provider or
consisting of routine follow-up, prenatal, or chronic care; or
[(4) provided under a contractual obligation that is
established under the Interstate Corrections Compact or under an
agreement with another state that precludes assessing a copayment.
[(c)] The department shall adopt policies to ensure that
before any deductions are made from an inmate's trust fund under
this section [an inmate initiates a visit to a health care
provider], the inmate is informed that the annual health care
services fee [a $3 copayment] will be deducted from the inmate's
trust fund as required by Subsection (a).
(c) [(d)] The department may not deny an inmate access to
health care as a result of the inmate's failure or inability to pay
a fee under this section [make a copayment].
(d) [(e)] The department shall deposit money received under
this section in an account in the general revenue fund that may be
used only to pay the cost of administering this section. At the
beginning of each fiscal year, the comptroller shall transfer any
surplus from the preceding fiscal year to the state treasury to the
credit of the general revenue fund.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 501, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 501.067 to read as follows:
Sec. 501.067. AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN MEDICATION. (a) In
this section, "over-the-counter medication" means medication that
may legally be sold and purchased without a prescription.
(b) The department shall make over-the-counter medication
available for purchase by inmates in each inmate commissary
operated by or under contract with the department.
(c) The department may not deny an inmate access to
over-the-counter medications as a result of the inmate's inability
to pay for the medication. The department shall pay for the cost of
over-the-counter medication for inmates who are unable to pay for
the medication out of the profits of inmate commissaries operated
by or under contract with the department.
(d) The department may adopt policies concerning the sale
and purchase of over-the-counter medication under this section as
necessary to ensure the safety and security of inmates in the
custody of, and employees of, the department, including policies
concerning the quantities and types of over-the-counter medication
that may be sold and purchased under this section.
SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 501, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 501.1485 to read as follows:
Sec. 501.1485. CORRECTIONS MEDICATION AIDES. (a) The
department, in cooperation with The University of Texas Medical
Branch at Galveston and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences
Center, shall develop and implement a training program for
corrections medication aides that uses a curriculum specific to
administering medication in a correctional setting.
(b) In developing the curriculum for the training program,
the department, The University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
shall:
(1) consider the content of the curriculum developed
by the American Correctional Association for certified corrections
nurses; and
(2) modify as appropriate the content of the
curriculum developed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, for
medication aides administering medication in convalescent and
nursing homes and related institutions to produce content suitable
for administering medication in a correctional setting.
(c) The department shall submit an application for the
approval of a training program developed under this section,
including the curriculum, to the Department of Aging and Disability
Services in the manner established by the executive commissioner of
the Health and Human Services Commission under Section 161.082,
Human Resources Code.
SECTION 5. Section 251.012, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by Chapters 839 (S.B. 1932) and 1280 (H.B. 1831), Acts of
the 81st Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, is reenacted and
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 251.012. EXEMPTIONS FROM LICENSING REQUIREMENT. The
following facilities are not required to be licensed under this
chapter:
(1) a home and community support services agency
licensed under Chapter 142 with a home dialysis designation;
(2) a hospital licensed under Chapter 241 that
provides dialysis only to individuals receiving:
(A) [individuals receiving] inpatient services
from the hospital; or
(B) [individuals receiving] outpatient services
due to a disaster declared by the governor or a federal disaster
declared by the president of the United States occurring in this
state or another state during the term of the disaster declaration;
[or]
(3) a hospital operated by or on behalf of the state as
part of the managed health care provider network established under
Chapter 501, Government Code, that provides dialysis only to
individuals receiving:
(A) inpatient services from the hospital; or
(B) outpatient services while serving a term of
confinement in a facility operated by or under contract with the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
(4) an end stage renal disease facility operated by or
on behalf of the state as part of the managed health care provider
network established under Chapter 501, Government Code, that
provides dialysis only to individuals receiving those services
while serving a term of confinement in a facility operated by or
under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; or
(5) the office of a physician unless the office is used
primarily as an end stage renal disease facility.
SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 161, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 161.082 to read as follows:
Sec. 161.082. CORRECTIONS MEDICATION AIDES. (a) The
executive commissioner shall establish:
(1) minimum standards and procedures for the approval
of corrections medication aide training programs, including
curricula, developed under Section 501.1485, Government Code;
(2) minimum requirements for the issuance, denial,
renewal, suspension, and revocation of a permit to a corrections
medication aide, including the payment of an application or renewal
fee in an amount necessary to cover the costs incurred by the
department in administering this section; and
(3) the acts and practices that are within and outside
the scope of a permit issued under this section.
(b) Not later than the 90th day after receipt of an
application for approval of a corrections medication aide training
program developed under Section 501.1485, Government Code, the
department shall:
(1) approve the program, if the program meets the
minimum standards and procedures established under Subsection
(a)(1); or
(2) provide notice to the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice that the program is not approved and include in the notice a
description of the actions that are required for the program to be
approved.
(c) The department shall issue a permit to or renew the
permit of an applicant who meets the minimum requirements
established under Subsection (a)(2). The department shall
coordinate with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the
performance of the department's duties and functions under this
subsection.
SECTION 7. (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
in cooperation with The University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, or a
successor correctional managed health care provider, shall develop
the training program required by Section 501.1485, Government Code,
as added by this Act, and the department shall submit an application
for approval of that program, as required by Subsection (c) of that
section, not later than January 1, 2012. If after the effective date
of this Act and before the date the department develops the training
program described by this subsection The University of Texas
Medical Branch at Galveston and the Texas Tech University Health
Sciences Center are no longer represented on the Correctional
Managed Health Care Committee, or no longer serve as correctional
managed health care providers, the executive director of the
department shall request and receive the cooperation of any other
state agency determined by the executive director to be an
appropriate resource in the development of the program.
(b) The change in law made by this Act in amending Section
251.012, Health and Safety Code, applies only to dialysis services
provided on or after the effective date of this Act. Dialysis
services provided before the effective date of this Act are covered
by the law in effect immediately before that date, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall establish the minimum standards and
requirements and the acts and practices allowed or prohibited, as
required by Section 161.082, Human Resources Code, as added by this
Act, not later than January 1, 2012.
SECTION 8. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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