89R2650 SCF-D
By: Manuel H.B. No. 1201
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a pilot program to provide Medicaid coverage of doula
services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 32.02481 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.02481. MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM FOR DOULA
SERVICES. (a) In this section:
(1) "Doula" means a nonmedical birthing coach who
provides doula services and meets the qualifications for a doula as
determined by commission rule.
(2) "Doula services" means nonmedical childbirth
education, coaching, 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) The commission shall establish a pilot program to
provide medical assistance reimbursement for doula services
provided by a doula, other than services for which a doula may
enroll as a provider and receive reimbursement under Section
32.024(qq). The executive commissioner, in consultation with the
Perinatal Advisory Council established under Section 241.187,
Health and Safety Code, by rule shall determine the qualifications
necessary for an individual to be considered a doula and the doula
services to be covered under the pilot program.
(c) Not later than September 1, 2026, the commission shall
implement the pilot program in:
(1) the most populous county in this state; and
(2) 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.
(d) The commission shall prescribe eligibility requirements
for participation in the pilot program.
(e) Not later than September 1 of each year during the
operation of the pilot program, the commission shall prepare and
publish on the commission's Internet website a report evaluating:
(1) the total costs during the preceding year of
providing medical assistance reimbursement for doula services
under the pilot program; and
(2) the impact on birth outcomes for women who receive
doula services under the pilot program.
(f) Not later than September 1, 2030, 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 pilot program terminates and this section expires
September 1, 2031.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 32.02481(e), Human
Resources Code, as added by this Act, the Health and Human Services
Commission shall prepare and publish the first report required by
that section not later than September 1, 2027.
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 September 1, 2025.