By: Blanco, Johnson 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, Human Resources Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (h) to read as
follows:
(g) The application form, including a renewal 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 that provides the
applicant with the option to be 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; and
(3) language that:
(A) notifies the applicant that, if determined
eligible for benefits, all preferred contact methods listed on the
application and renewal forms will be shared with the applicant's
managed care organization or health plan provider;
(B) allows the applicant to consent to being
contacted through the preferred contact methods by the applicant's
managed care organization or health plan provider; and
(C) explains the security risks of electronic
communication. [All preferred methods of contact listed on this
application will be shared with your managed care organization or
health plan provider. 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)".]
(h) For purposes of Subsections (g)(2) and (3), the
commission shall implement a process to:
(1) transmit the applicant's preferred contact methods
and consent to the managed care organization or health plan
provider;
(2) allow an applicant to change the applicant's
preferences in the future, including providing for an option to opt
out of electronic communication; and
(3) communicate updated information to the managed
care organization or health plan provider.
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.