By: Sheffield H.C.R. No. 145
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC),
with the support of the Legislature, has created an innovative
health care safety net through the Health Care Transformation and
Quality Improvement 1115 waiver; and
WHEREAS, the 1115 waiver has facilitated access to vital
healthcare and mental health services, as well as substance abuse
treatment, through the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment
(DSRIP) program; and
WHEREAS, the DSRIP agreement with the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS) for approximately $3 billion in annual
funding permanently ends in 2021; and
WHEREAS, it is critical to negotiate a new waiver-based
solution based on Texas conservative principles that retains the
healthcare safety net for individuals without access to affordable
health insurance, most of whom come from families with at least one
breadwinner; and
WHEREAS, mental health centers and rural hospitals are
particularly vulnerable to the increase in uncompensated care that
will occur without a solution to the loss of DSRIP funding;
WHEREAS, CMS has asked for innovative proposals from state
governments that increase budget flexibility, promote personal
responsibility, and foster a cost-effective approach to treating
mental illness and pre-existing conditions while increasing access
to preventive and maternal health services; and
WHEREAS, while not a pre-requisite for a waiver-based
solution to the loss of DSRIP funding, it is beneficial for the
Legislature to demonstrate to HHSC and CMS its support for a
solution that maximizes federal funding while not expanding state
Medicaid enrollment or creating a new budget entitlement; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas
expresses its intent that HHSC negotiate with CMS to leverage
enhanced federal funding and the CMS commitment to state
flexibility to develop a non-entitlement coverage model based on
the private market through a new waiver or a revision of the current
waiver; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Legislature expresses its intent that the
new or revised waiver be renegotiated within a timeframe that
minimizes or eliminates any disruption to the healthcare safety net
caused by the loss of DSRIP funding.