87R8203 JG-D
By: Thierry H.B. No. 2685
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a pilot program to provide Medicaid coverage for doula
services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 531.0997 to read as follows:
Sec. 531.0997. MEDICAID PILOT PROGRAM FOR DOULA SERVICES.
(a) In this section:
(1) "Doula" means a nonmedical birthing coach who
provides doula services.
(2) "Doula services" means childbirth education and
support services, including emotional and physical support
provided during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the postpartum
period, or provided intermittently during pregnancy and the
postpartum period.
(b) To reduce maternal mortality rates and racial
disparities in health outcomes, the commission shall establish a
pilot program to provide doula services to Medicaid recipients,
regardless of whether those recipients receive services through a
Medicaid managed care or fee-for-service delivery model.
(c) The commission shall implement the pilot program in the
following phases and geographic areas of this state:
(1) beginning not later than September 1, 2022, the
commission shall implement the pilot program in the most populous
county in this state; and
(2) beginning not later than September 1, 2023, the
commission shall implement the pilot program in the county with the
greatest maternal health support needs, as determined by the
county's maternal and infant mortality rates and the number of
births in the county by Medicaid recipients during a period in which
provider capacity for the county has been reached.
(d) The commission shall prescribe eligibility requirements
for participation in the pilot program.
(e) The commission shall ensure that Medicaid
reimbursement is provided to a doula who provides doula services to
an eligible participant under the pilot program for the following:
(1) up to four prenatal visits;
(2) the provision of support services during labor and
delivery; and
(3) up to four postpartum visits.
(f) Not later than September 1, 2028, the commission shall
prepare and submit to the legislature a written report that:
(1) summarizes the results of the pilot program,
including the effectiveness of the pilot program in reducing
maternal mortality rates and racial disparities in health outcomes
in the geographic areas of this state in which the pilot program
operates;
(2) includes feedback from participating doulas and
recipients who received doula services under the pilot program; and
(3) includes a recommendation on whether the pilot
program should be continued, expanded, or terminated.
(g) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to
implement this section, including rules outlining the
qualifications necessary for an individual to participate in the
pilot program as a doula and the scope of doula services to be
provided under the pilot program.
(h) The pilot program terminates and this section expires
September 1, 2030.
SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.