Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB977 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R3346 EES-F
2	2	By: Collier H.B. No. 977
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to expanding eligibility for medical assistance to certain
8	8	persons under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care
9	9	Act and ensuring the provision of quality care under and the
10	10	effectiveness of the medical assistance program.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER G. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
15	15	Sec. 32.301. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
16	16	(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
17	17	Commission.
18	18	(2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
19	19	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
20	20	(3) "Medical assistance expansion group" means the
21	21	category of persons who would not be eligible for medical
22	22	assistance under the eligibility criteria in effect on December 31,
23	23	2015, but who are eligible for that assistance because of the
24	24	requirement of Section 32.302(a).
25	25	(4) "Undocumented immigrant" means a person who:
26	26	(A) is not a citizen or other national of the
27	27	United States; and
28	28	(B) is not lawfully authorized to be present in
29	29	the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
30	30	U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.) or other federal law.
31	31	Sec. 32.302. EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
32	32	UNDER PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT. (a)
33	33	Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided in Subsection
34	34	(b) and Section 32.303, to the extent funds are appropriated to the
35	35	commission for that purpose, the commission shall provide medical
36	36	assistance to all persons who apply for that assistance and for whom
37	37	federal matching funds are available under the Patient Protection
38	38	and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the
39	39	Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No.
40	40	111-152) to provide that assistance.
41	41	(b) Nothing in this section authorizes the commission to
42	42	provide medical assistance to undocumented immigrants.
43	43	(c) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules regarding
44	44	the provision of medical assistance as required by this section.
45	45	Sec. 32.303. RESTRICTED ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
46	46	UPON CHANGES IN FEDERAL MATCHING FUNDS. (a) Notwithstanding any
47	47	other law, if the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) by
48	48	which this state's expenditures under the medical assistance
49	49	program are matched with federal funds, and that applies with
50	50	respect to persons in the medical assistance expansion group, is
51	51	less than the percentage provided for in the Patient Protection and
52	52	Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health
53	53	Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No.
54	54	111-152), and excluding subsequent amendments:
55	55	(1) the commission shall alert the Legislative Budget
56	56	Board; and
57	57	(2) beginning on the first day of the month following
58	58	the month in which the new federal medical assistance percentage
59	59	(FMAP) becomes effective, the commission shall:
60	60	(A) cease providing medical assistance to
61	61	persons in the medical assistance expansion group; and
62	62	(B) reinstate the eligibility criteria for
63	63	medical assistance that existed on December 31, 2015.
64	64	(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt any rules
65	65	necessary to implement any changes in the provision of and
66	66	eligibility criteria for medical assistance required by this
67	67	section.
68	68	Sec. 32.304. FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF
69	69	COST-SHARING OBLIGATIONS FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE EXPANSION GROUP.
70	70	The executive commissioner shall seek a waiver or other appropriate
71	71	authorization from the appropriate federal agency to develop and
72	72	implement cost-sharing obligations for the medical assistance
73	73	expansion group. Cost-sharing obligations developed by the
74	74	commission under this section:
75	75	(1) must be designed to:
76	76	(A) incentivize persons in the medical
77	77	assistance expansion group to seek preventive or routine health
78	78	care services, rather than emergency health care services, when
79	79	possible and appropriate; and
80	80	(B) guarantee quality health care for persons in
81	81	the medical assistance expansion group;
82	82	(2) may include:
83	83	(A) copayments and deductibles; and
84	84	(B) modifications to the reimbursement
85	85	methodologies for services provided to persons in the medical
86	86	assistance expansion group; and
87	87	(3) may incorporate any other incentives or strategies
88	88	that the commission determines are necessary, including:
89	89	(A) expanded use of managed care;
90	90	(B) increased reliance on private individual or
91	91	employer-based health benefits coverage; and
92	92	(C) targeted benefits for chronic illnesses.
93	93	Sec. 32.305. ANNUAL REPORT ON EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR
94	94	MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. Not later than December 1 of each year, the
95	95	commission shall report to the governor, the lieutenant governor,
96	96	the speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing
97	97	committees of the senate and the house of representatives having
98	98	primary jurisdiction over the medical assistance program on the
99	99	effects of expanding eligibility for medical assistance under
100	100	Section 32.302, including the effects on:
101	101	(1) the number of persons in this state who do not have
102	102	health benefits coverage;
103	103	(2) state health care costs, including costs relating
104	104	to programs funded with money appropriated out of the general
105	105	revenue fund;
106	106	(3) local health care costs; and
107	107	(4) charity care and uncompensated care costs for
108	108	hospitals.
109	109	SECTION 2. Section 32.302, Human Resources Code, as added
110	110	by this Act, applies only to an initial determination or
111	111	recertification of eligibility of a person for medical assistance
112	112	under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, made on or after January 1,
113	113	2016, regardless of the date the person applied for that
114	114	assistance.
115	115	SECTION 3. As soon as possible after the effective date of
116	116	this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
117	117	Services Commission shall take all necessary actions to expand
118	118	eligibility for medical assistance under Chapter 32, Human
119	119	Resources Code, beginning January 1, 2016, and in accordance with
120	120	Section 32.302, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act,
121	121	including:
122	122	(1) notifying appropriate federal agencies of that
123	123	expanded eligibility; and
124	124	(2) establishing work groups or consulting with
125	125	stakeholder groups.
126	126	SECTION 4. If before implementing any provision of this Act
127	127	a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
128	128	federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
129	129	the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
130	130	authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
131	131	waiver or authorization is granted.
132	132	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
133	133	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
134	134	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
135	135	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
136	136	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.