85R11123 JG-F
By: Miller H.B. No. 4083
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to trauma screening for certain children and
trauma-informed care training for certain providers participating
in the Medicaid managed care program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 266.0042, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 266.0042. CONSENT FOR PSYCHOTROPIC
MEDICATION. Consent to the administration of a psychotropic
medication is valid only if:
(1) the consent is given voluntarily and without undue
influence; and
(2) the person authorized by law to consent for the
foster child receives verbally or in writing information that
describes:
(A) the specific condition to be treated;
(B) the beneficial effects on that condition
expected from the medication;
(C) the probable health and mental health
consequences of not consenting to the medication;
(D) the probable clinically significant side
effects and risks associated with the medication; [and]
(E) the generally accepted alternative
medications and non-pharmacological interventions to the
medication, if any, and the reasons for the proposed course of
treatment; and
(F) the determination, following a screening of
the foster child for trauma, that the symptoms exhibited by the
foster child are related to a diagnosed mental disorder and not a
traumatic event or that the administration of the psychotropic
medication is recommended for temporary relief for symptoms related
to a traumatic event.
SECTION 2. Section 533.0052, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 533.0052. STAR HEALTH PROGRAM: TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE
TRAINING. (a) A contract between a managed care organization and
the commission for the organization to provide health care services
to recipients under the STAR Health program must require that:
(1) [include a requirement that trauma-informed care
training be offered to] each contracted physician or provider who
diagnoses mental health conditions or disorders for, prescribes
psychotropic medications for, or provides non-pharmacological
interventions or therapeutic treatment for mental health
conditions or disorders to foster children in the conservatorship
of the Department of Family and Protective Services receives a
minimum of eight hours of trauma-informed care training that the
Department of Family and Protective Services, after consultation
with the Department of State Health Services, considers appropriate
and that includes training on:
(A) attachment theory;
(B) the impact of trauma on a child's:
(i) brain development;
(ii) neurochemistry;
(iii) behavior; and
(iv) cognitive processes and perception;
(C) managing psychological triggers of traumatic
memories;
(D) to reduce the chances of misdiagnosis,
distinctions between symptoms related to trauma exposure and
symptoms related to mental health disorders;
(E) the types and appropriate uses of
non-pharmacological interventions and evidence-based treatment
modalities for trauma;
(F) the factors to consider regarding the
potential use of psychotropic medications by children who have
experienced traumatic events; and
(G) the impact of alcohol use on the brain
development of a child in utero and the impact of fetal alcohol
spectrum disorder on a child's behavior; and
(2) each contracted physician or provider who provides
non-pharmacological interventions or therapeutic treatment to
foster children in the conservatorship of the Department of Family
and Protective Services be certified to use at least one
evidence-based, trauma-informed intervention or therapy that has
received a positive rating for the strength of the research
evidence supporting the intervention or therapy from the California
Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare.
(a-1) The commission shall make the training described by
Subsection (a)(1) available at no cost to each contracted physician
or provider.
(a-2) A contracted physician or provider may meet the
requirements in Subsection (a) by providing documentation to the
commission of relevant training and certification.
(b) The commission shall require [encourage] each managed
care organization providing health care services to recipients
under the STAR Health program to require that each contracted
physician or provider receives [make] training in distinguishing
post-traumatic stress disorder from other mental health disorders,
such as [and] attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bipolar
disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder, not later than
[available to a contracted physician or provider within a
reasonable time after] the date the physician or provider begins
providing services under the managed care plan.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, a contracted physician
or provider is not required to meet the training and certification
requirements of this section before September 1, 2019. This
subsection expires September 1, 2021.
SECTION 3. (a) Section 533.0052, Government Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to a contract between the Health
and Human Services Commission and a managed care organization that
is entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of this
Act.
(b) To the extent permitted by law or the terms of the
contract, the Health and Human Services Commission shall amend a
contract entered into before the effective date of this Act with a
managed care organization to require compliance with Section
533.0052, Government Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 4. If before implementing any provision of this Act
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.