By: Buckingham S.R. No. 948
SENATE RESOLUTION
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, That Senate Rule 12.03 be
suspended in part as provided by Senate Rule 12.08 to enable the
conference committee appointed to resolve the differences on
Senate Bill 1148 (maintenance of certification by a physician or
an applicant for a license to practice medicine in this state) to
consider and take action on the following matter:
Senate Rule 12.03(4) is suspended to permit the committee
to add text on a matter not included in either the house or senate
version of the bill by adding SECTION 3 to the bill to read as
follows:
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 151, Occupations Code,
is amended by adding Section 151.0515 to read as follows:
Sec. 151.0515. DISCRIMINATION BASED ON MAINTENANCE OF
CERTIFICATION. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, the following entities may not differentiate between
physicians based on a physician's maintenance of certification:
(1) a health facility that is licensed under
Subtitle B, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, or a mental hospital
that is licensed under Chapter 577, Health and Safety Code, if
the facility or hospital has an organized medical staff or a
process for credentialing physicians;
(2) a hospital that is owned or operated by this
state;
(3) an institution or program that is owned,
operated, or licensed by this state, including an institution or
program that directly or indirectly receives state financial
assistance, if the institution or program:
(A) has an organized medical staff or a
process for credentialing physicians on its staff; and
(B) is not a medical school, as defined by
Section 61.501, Education Code, or a comprehensive cancer
center, as designated by the National Cancer Institute; or
(4) an institution or program that is owned,
operated, or licensed by a political subdivision of this state,
if the institution or program has an organized medical staff or a
process for credentialing physicians on its staff.
(b) An entity described by Subsection (a) may
differentiate between physicians based on a physician's
maintenance of certification if:
(1) the entity's designation under law or
certification or accreditation by a national certifying or
accrediting organization is contingent on the entity requiring a
specific maintenance of certification by physicians seeking
staff privileges or credentialing at the entity; and
(2) the differentiation is limited to those
physicians whose maintenance of certification is required for
the entity's designation, certification, or accreditation as
described by Subdivision (1).
(c) An entity described by Subsection (a) may
differentiate between physicians based on a physician's
maintenance of certification if the voting physician members of
the entity's organized medical staff vote to authorize the
differentiation.
(d) An authorization described by Subsection (c) may:
(1) be made only by the voting physician members of
the entity's organized medical staff and not by the entity's
governing body, administration, or any other person;
(2) subject to Subsection (e), establish terms
applicable to the entity's differentiation, including:
(A) appropriate grandfathering provisions;
and
(B) limiting the differentiation to certain
medical specialties; and
(3) be rescinded at any time by a vote of the voting
physician members of the entity's organized medical staff.
(e) Terms established under Subsection (d)(2) may not
conflict with a maintenance of certification requirement
applicable to the entity's designation under law or
certification or accreditation by a national certifying or
accrediting organization.
Explanation: The change is necessary to provide that
certain entities may not differentiate between physicians based
on a physician's maintenance of certification except in certain
circumstances.