89R2216 KKR-D
By: Lalani H.B. No. 836
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishing a minimum base wage for certain personal
attendants under Medicaid and other programs administered by the
Health and Human Services Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 540, Government Code, as
effective April 1, 2025, is amended by adding Section 540.0281 to
read as follows:
Sec. 540.0281. COMPLIANCE WITH MINIMUM BASE WAGE FOR
CERTAIN PERSONAL ATTENDANTS. A contract to which this subchapter
applies must require the contracting Medicaid managed care
organization to ensure provider compliance with the minimum base
wage requirement for personal attendants under Section 546.0752.
SECTION 2. Chapter 546, Government Code, as effective April
1, 2025, is amended by adding Subchapter P to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER P. PERSONAL ATTENDANT SERVICES
Sec. 546.0751. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Consumer direction model" means a consumer
direction model implemented under Subchapter C.
(2) "Contractor" means a person that contracts with
the commission, a Medicaid managed care organization, or an
employer or designated representative under a consumer direction
model to provide personal attendant services to individuals
eligible to receive those services under a program administered by
the commission.
(3) "Personal attendant" means an individual who is
engaged as an employee or subcontractor to directly provide
personal attendant services to an individual eligible to receive
those services under a program administered by the commission.
(4) "Personal attendant services" means nonmedical
services that enable an individual to engage in the activities of
daily living or to perform the physical functions required for
independent living, including:
(A) bathing, dressing, grooming, feeding,
exercising, toileting, positioning, routine hair and skin care, and
other personal care services;
(B) transfer or ambulation, transportation, and
other mobility support services;
(C) light housekeeping, grocery shopping, meal
preparation, laundry, and other household assistance;
(D) assisting with self-administered
medications;
(E) monitoring health-related needs and other
health management needs; and
(F) in-home respite services.
Sec. 546.0752. MINIMUM BASE WAGE FOR PERSONAL ATTENDANTS.
(a) This section applies only with respect to the following
programs administered by the commission:
(1) Medicaid, including a waiver or other program
established under:
(A) Section 1115 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Section 1315);
(B) Section 1915(b), (c), or (k) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1396n(b), (c), or (k)); or
(C) Section 1929 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Section 1396t); and
(2) a program authorized under Subtitle A, Title XX,
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1397 et seq.).
(b) Notwithstanding Section 62.051 or 62.151, Labor Code,
or any other law, a contractor must pay a personal attendant who is
engaged to provide personal attendant services under a program to
which this section applies a base wage that is not less than the
greater of:
(1) $15 an hour; or
(2) the federal minimum wage under Section 6, Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 206).
Sec. 546.0753. COMPLIANCE MONITORING; REPORTING
VIOLATIONS. (a) The commission shall monitor compliance with the
minimum base wage required under Section 546.0752.
(b) The executive commissioner by rule shall establish a
process by which a personal attendant may confidentially report a
violation of Section 546.0752. The process must ensure that a
personal attendant is not retaliated against for reporting a
violation.
Sec. 546.0754. RESPONSIBILITY OF CERTAIN CONTRACTORS UNDER
CONSUMER-DIRECTED SERVICES OPTION. A person who contracts with the
commission to provide financial management services or consumer
managed personal attendant services under a consumer direction
model shall ensure that an employer or designated representative
complies with the minimum base wage requirement for personal
attendants under Section 546.0752.
Sec. 546.0755. FUNDING. In addition to money appropriated
by the legislature, the commission shall seek and accept federal
money and grants to help fund the minimum base wage requirement for
personal attendants under Section 546.0752.
Sec. 546.0756. ANNUAL REPORT. Not later than December 1 of
each year, the commission shall submit to the legislature a report
on the effectiveness of the minimum base wage for personal
attendants required under Section 546.0752.
Sec. 546.0757. RULES. The commission shall adopt rules
necessary to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 3. Section 546.0752, Government Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2026 calendar year.
SECTION 4. The report required to be submitted during the
2026 calendar year under Section 546.0756, Government Code, as
added by this Act, must contain an assessment of the effect
increasing the minimum base wage under Section 546.0752, Government
Code, as added by this Act, had on the provision of personal
attendant services under the applicable commission-administered
programs, including a determination of whether:
(1) the quality of personal attendant services
provided under the programs improved; and
(2) the retention rate of personal attendants
increased as a result of the wage increase.
SECTION 5. 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 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.