89R5360 AND-D
By: Meza H.B. No. 2531
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reimbursement rate for meals provided under the
home-delivered meals program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 526, Government Code, as
effective April 1, 2025, is amended by adding Section 526.0060 to
read as follows:
Sec. 526.0060. HOME-DELIVERED MEALS PROGRAM REIMBURSEMENT
RATE; ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT. (a) In this section, "home-delivered
meals program" means the program administered by the commission
under which a contracted provider agency delivers meals to certain
eligible individuals, including:
(1) recipients receiving services under the STAR+PLUS
home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver program;
(2) individuals receiving community services and
supports under Title XX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
Section 1397 et seq.); and
(3) individuals receiving services from area agencies
on aging under the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Section
3001 et seq.).
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), the executive commissioner
by rule shall increase the reimbursement rate ceiling prescribed
for a meal provided under the home-delivered meals program to $10
per meal.
(c) Not later than October 1 of each year, the reimbursement
rate ceiling for a meal provided under the home-delivered meals
program must be adjusted to reflect the change in the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics or its successor index during the preceding fiscal
year.
SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.