86R13478 KLA-F By: Miller H.B. No. 3245 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to considerations in awarding contracts under the Medicaid managed care program. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 533.001, Government Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (6-a) to read as follows: (6-a) "Social determinants of health" means the environmental conditions in which a person is born, lives, learns, works, plays, worships, and ages that affect a range of health, functional, and quality of life outcomes and risks. SECTION 2. Section 533.003(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) In awarding contracts to managed care organizations, the commission shall: (1) give preference to organizations that have significant participation in the organization's provider network from each health care provider in the region who has traditionally provided care to Medicaid and charity care patients; (2) give extra consideration to organizations that agree to assure continuity of care for at least three months beyond the period of Medicaid eligibility for recipients; (3) consider the need to use different managed care plans to meet the needs of different populations; (4) consider the ability of organizations to process Medicaid claims electronically; and (5) give extra consideration to organizations that use enriched data sets incorporating social determinants of health to manage socially complex populations in a manner that achieves: (A) cost savings through implementation of appropriate interventions for those populations; and (B) favorable health outcomes for those populations by reducing preventable emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and institutionalizations [in the initial implementation of managed care in the South Texas service region, give extra consideration to an organization that either: [(A) is locally owned, managed, and operated, if one exists; or [(B) is in compliance with the requirements of Section 533.004]. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.