88R8485 BDP-F
By: Blanco S.B. No. 1127
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Medicaid application form and communication with
Medicaid recipients.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 533.008, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(c) The executive commissioner shall adopt and publish
guidelines for Medicaid managed care organizations regarding how
organizations may communicate by telephone, text message, or e-mail
with recipients enrolled in the organization's managed care plan
using the contact information provided in a recipient's application
for Medicaid benefits under Section 32.025(g)(2), Human Resources
Code, including updated information provided to the organization in
accordance with Section 32.025(h), Human Resources Code.
(d) In adopting the guidelines under Subsection (c) for a
recipient enrolled in a Medicaid managed care organization's
managed care plan who provides to the organization the recipient's
contact information through any method other than the recipient's
Medicaid application, the commission:
(1) must allow the organization to communicate with
the recipient through any electronic means, including telephone,
text message, and e-mail, regarding eligibility, enrollment, and
other health care matters; and
(2) may not require the organization to submit the
recipient's contact preference information to the commission.
SECTION 2. Section 32.025(g), Human Resources Code, is
amended 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;
(2) for all applicants, a question regarding the
applicant's preferences for being contacted by a managed care
organization or health plan provider [that provides the applicant
with the option to be contacted] by telephone, text message, or
e-mail about eligibility, enrollment, and other 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) notifies [allows] the applicant that the
applicant may opt out of [to consent to] being contacted by
telephone, text message, or e-mail [through the preferred contact
methods] by notifying the applicant's managed care organization or
health plan provider; and
(C) explains the security risks of electronic
communication.
SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2024, the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
adopt revised communication guidelines for Medicaid managed care
organizations that conform to the requirements of Section 533.008,
Government Code, as amended by this Act, and 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 4. 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.