By: Menéndez S.B. No. 2448
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of funds appropriated by the Department of State
Health Services to deliver low-dose, at-home racemic ketamine via
telehealth to improve healthcare access and mental health outcomes
across rural and high-risk populations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1001.203, Health and Safety Code is
amended by adding Section 1001.2032 to read as follows:
(1) The purpose of this Act is to provide for expanded
healthcare access, reduced care costs, improved mental health,
reduced chronic pain, increased workforce productivity, improved
trauma management for first responders and active military, and
improved health rankings for rural and high-risk populations across
Texas by authorizing the Department of State Health Services to
fund low-dose, at-home ketamine using medical technology in the
form of targeted intranasal delivery that can optimize the
effectiveness of and reduce the potential side effects related to
racemic ketamine treatments.
(2) The Department of State Health Services shall direct
funding to treat rural health population, first responders,
veterans, and activity military with a clinical diagnosis of
depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and chronic
pain. The Department of State Health Services shall allocate a
total of $55,000,000 for the purpose of providing funding during
the state fiscal years ending August 31, 2024 and August 31, 2025
for the treatment of at least 15,000 adults that are designated as
living in a rural area of Texas, at least 8,000 first responders,
and at least 6,000 veterans or active military.
(3) The Department of State Health Services shall transfer
the appropriations through contracts with low-dose, at-home
racemic ketamine service providers that utilize targeted
intranasal drug delivery. When treating mental health and
neurological conditions, which requires the delivery of
pharmaceutical agents to the brain, it is well understood that
using oral administration is the least efficient and problematic
route and intravenous or intramuscular administration prohibits
at-home, self-administration, which is required to maximize access
to care. The most optimized route of administration is intranasal,
where certain regions of the nasal anatomy provide optimized
pathways for drug delivery that can eliminate side effects that can
reduce treatment compliance and maximize potential health
outcomes. The treatment protocol shall not exceed 30 to 60
milligrams of racemic ketamine per individual treatment and shall
not exceed a total of 180 to 360 milligrams of racemic ketamine for
the entire treatment program, as this sub-anesthetic and low-dose
treatment protocol will minimize the potential for side-effects.
SECTION 2. 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, and shall
expire September 1, 2025.
SECTION 3: The Department of State Health Services required
to implement this Act only if the legislature appropriates money
specifically for the purpose stated in SECTION 1 if this Act. If the
legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
purpose, the Department of State Health Services may, but is not
required to, implement this Act using other appropriations
available for the purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.