89R13361 AB-D
By: Guerra H.B. No. 4122
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of certain information about Medicaid
benefits for certain postpartum women.
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
POSTPARTUM MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY. The commission shall annually
provide written notice to each health care provider who regularly
provides health care services to Medicaid recipients who are
pregnant women or newborn children:
(1) informing or reminding the providers that a
postpartum woman is eligible for medical assistance for a 12-month
period beginning on the last day of the woman's pregnancy in
accordance with Section 32.024(l-1); and
(2) encouraging providers to educate Medicaid
recipients who are mothers or the prospective mothers of newborn
children about the 12-month eligibility period described by
Subdivision (1).
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;
(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
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:
(A) selecting and interacting with a primary
health care practitioner and establishing a "medical home" for the
child;
(B) dental care;
(C) effective parenting;
(D) child safety;
(E) the importance of reading to a child;
(F) expected developmental milestones;
(G) health care resources available in the state;
(H) selecting appropriate child care; [and]
(I) other resources available in the state; and
(J) the woman's eligibility for medical
assistance for a 12-month period beginning on the last day of the
woman's pregnancy in accordance with Section 32.024(l-1), Human
Resources Code;
(3) document in the woman's record that the woman
received the resource pamphlet described in Subdivision (1) and the
resource guide 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, the
Department of State Health Services shall include the information
required by Section 161.501(a)(2)(J), Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, in the informational materials required by that
section.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 161.501(a)(2)(J), Health and
Safety Code, as added 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.