89R9324 KKR-F
By: Johnson H.B. No. 3940
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of certain information about Medicaid
benefits in relation to newborn children.
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 32.0631 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.0631. ANNUAL NOTICE TO CERTAIN PROVIDERS REGARDING
USE OF MEDICAID IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS WITH RESPECT TO NEWBORN
CHILDREN. The commission shall annually provide written notice to
each managed care organization and health care provider, including
hospitals and other health care facilities participating in
Medicaid that regularly provide health care services to medical
assistance recipients who are pregnant women or newborn children:
(1) reminding the organizations and providers that
when a newborn child of a recipient has not been assigned a Medicaid
identification number, the provider may accept or use the
recipient's Medicaid identification number on any claim for
reimbursement under Medicaid; and
(2) encouraging organizations and providers to
educate recipients who are mothers or the prospective mothers of
newborn children that the recipient may use the recipient's
Medicaid identification number until the recipient's newborn child
is enrolled in Medicaid.
SECTION 2. Section 161.501(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A hospital, birthing center, physician, nurse midwife,
or midwife who provides prenatal care to a pregnant woman during
gestation or at delivery of an infant shall:
(1) provide the woman and the father of the infant, if
possible, or another adult caregiver for the infant, with a
resource pamphlet that includes:
(A) a list of the names, addresses, and phone
numbers of professional organizations that provide postpartum
counseling and assistance to parents relating to postpartum
depression and other emotional trauma associated with pregnancy and
parenting;
(B) information regarding the prevention of
shaken baby syndrome including:
(i) techniques for coping with anger caused
by a crying baby;
(ii) different methods for preventing a
person from shaking a newborn, infant, or other young child;
(iii) the dangerous effects of shaking a
newborn, infant, or other young child; and
(iv) the symptoms of shaken baby syndrome
and who to contact, as recommended by the American Academy of
Pediatrics, if a parent suspects or knows that a baby has been
shaken in order to receive prompt medical treatment;
(C) a list of diseases for which a child is
required by state law to be immunized and the appropriate schedule
for the administration of those immunizations;
(D) the appropriate schedule for follow-up
procedures for newborn screening;
(E) information regarding sudden infant death
syndrome, including current recommendations for infant sleeping
conditions to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome;
(F) educational information in both English and
Spanish on:
(i) pertussis disease and the availability
of a vaccine to protect against pertussis, including information on
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that
parents receive Tdap during the postpartum period to protect
newborns from the transmission of pertussis; and
(ii) the incidence of cytomegalovirus,
birth defects caused by congenital cytomegalovirus, and available
resources for the family of an infant born with congenital
cytomegalovirus; [and]
(G) the danger of heatstroke for a child left
unattended in a motor vehicle; and
(H) information about Medicaid benefits for
children, including eligibility requirements and the process for
applying for those benefits;
(2) if the woman is a recipient of medical assistance
under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, provide the woman and the
father of the infant, if possible, or another adult caregiver with:
(A) a resource guide that includes information in
both English and Spanish relating to the development, health, and
safety of a child from birth until age five, including information
relating to:
(i) [(A)] selecting and interacting with a
primary health care practitioner and establishing a "medical home"
for the child;
(ii) [(B)] dental care;
(iii) [(C)] effective parenting;
(iv) [(D)] child safety;
(v) [(E)] the importance of reading to a
child;
(vi) [(F)] expected developmental
milestones;
(vii) [(G)] health care resources
available in the state;
(viii) [(H)] selecting appropriate child
care; [and]
(ix) [(I)] other resources available in the
state; and
(x) how to contact the commission to report
the child's birth for the purpose of enrolling the newborn child in
Medicaid; and
(B) a written notice developed by the commission
informing the woman, father, or other caregiver that the newborn
child is automatically eligible for Medicaid and that the woman's
Medicaid identification number may be used on reimbursement claims
for services provided to the woman's newborn child until the child
is enrolled in Medicaid and assigned a separate Medicaid
identification number;
(3) document in the woman's record that the woman
received the resource pamphlet described in Subdivision (1) and the
resource guide and notice described in Subdivision (2), if
applicable; and
(4) retain the documentation for at least five years
in the hospital's, birthing center's, physician's, nurse midwife's,
or midwife's records.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than December 1, 2025:
(1) the Department of State Health Services shall
include the information required by Sections 161.501(a)(1)(H) and
(a)(2)(A)(x), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, in the
informational materials required by that section; and
(2) the Health and Human Services Commission shall
develop the notice required by Section 161.501(a)(2)(B), Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 161.501(a), Health and Safety
Code, as amended by this Act, a hospital, birthing center,
physician, nurse midwife, or midwife who provides prenatal care to
a pregnant woman during gestation or at delivery of an infant is not
required to comply with that provision until January 1, 2026.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.