87R6074 BDP-F
By: Blanco S.B. No. 1911
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the content of an application for Medicaid.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 32.025(g), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) The application form adopted under this section must
include:
(1) for an applicant who is pregnant, a question
regarding whether the pregnancy is the woman's first gestational
pregnancy; and
(2) for all applicants, a question regarding the
applicant's preferences for being contacted, as follows:
"If you are determined eligible for benefits, your
managed care organization or health plan provider may contact you
by telephone, text message, or e-mail about health care matters,
including reminders for appointments and information about
immunizations or well check visits. All preferred methods of
contact listed on this application will be shared with your managed
care organization or health plan provider.
If your preferred method of contact about health
care matters is by electronic communication, including text message
or e-mail, please be advised that while your managed care
organization or health plan provider is required to protect the
security of that communication, because electronic communication
may not be encrypted there is still a risk of a security breach,
including the risk of confidential or private information being
intercepted by an unauthorized third party. By completing the form
below, you acknowledge that you understand the risks associated
with and consent to the use of electronic communication.
Please indicate below your preferred methods of
contact in order of preference, with the number 1 being the most
preferable method:
(1) By telephone (if contacted by cellular telephone, the
call may be autodialed or prerecorded, and your carrier's usage
rates may apply)? Yes No
Telephone number: _____________
Order of preference: 1 2 3 (circle a number)
(2) By text message (a free autodialed service, but your
carrier may charge message and data rates)? Yes No
Cellular telephone number: ______________
Order of preference: 1 2 3 (circle a number)
(3) By e-mail? Yes No
E-mail address: __________________
Order of preference: 1 2 3 (circle a number)".
SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2022, the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
adopt a revised application form for medical assistance benefits
that conforms to the requirements of Section 32.025(g), Human
Resources Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 3. 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 4. 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, 2021.