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| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Filed January 24, 2025; February 13, 2025, |
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| 3 | + | read first time and referred to Committee on Health & Human |
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| 4 | + | Services; March 31, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable |
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| 5 | + | Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 3; |
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| 6 | + | March 31, 2025, sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 8 | + | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 921 By: Perry |
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| 4 | 9 | | |
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| 5 | 10 | | |
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| 6 | 11 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 12 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 13 | | relating to conducting an ex parte renewal of a recipient's |
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| 9 | 14 | | Medicaid eligibility. |
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| 10 | 15 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 16 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter J, Chapter 532, Government Code, as |
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| 12 | 17 | | effective April 1, 2025, is amended by adding Section 532.0456 to |
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| 13 | 18 | | read as follows: |
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| 14 | 19 | | Sec. 532.0456. EX PARTE RENEWALS PROHIBITED. (a) In this |
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| 15 | 20 | | section: |
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| 16 | 21 | | (1) "Ex parte renewal" means a redetermination of a |
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| 17 | 22 | | recipient's Medicaid eligibility that is conducted automatically |
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| 18 | 23 | | without requiring information from the recipient using information |
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| 19 | 24 | | from verifiable electronic data sources or that is otherwise |
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| 20 | 25 | | available to the commission. |
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| 21 | 26 | | (2) "Public assistance program" means a program to |
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| 22 | 27 | | provide benefits to persons based on need that is administered by |
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| 23 | 28 | | the commission and established under Subtitle C, Title 2, Human |
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| 24 | 29 | | Resources Code, or other law. |
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| 25 | 30 | | (b) Except as expressly required by federal law, the |
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| 26 | 31 | | commission or a state agency that administers any part of Medicaid |
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| 27 | 32 | | may not accept information provided by a recipient in an |
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| 28 | 33 | | application for benefits under another public assistance program, |
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| 29 | 34 | | including the supplemental nutrition assistance program |
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| 30 | 35 | | established under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, as verifiable |
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| 31 | 36 | | electronic data for purposes of conducting an ex parte renewal of |
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| 32 | 37 | | the recipient's Medicaid eligibility. |
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| 33 | 38 | | (c) This section does not prohibit the commission or a state |
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| 34 | 39 | | agency that administers any part of Medicaid from receiving, |
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| 35 | 40 | | reviewing, and, if appropriate, conducting a redetermination of a |
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| 36 | 41 | | recipient's Medicaid eligibility based on information provided in |
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| 37 | 42 | | an application described by Subsection (b) that indicates a change |
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| 38 | 43 | | in circumstances that may affect the recipient's Medicaid |
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| 39 | 44 | | eligibility. |
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| 40 | 45 | | SECTION 2. Not later than the 180th day after the effective |
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| 41 | 46 | | date of this Act, the Health and Human Services Commission shall |
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| 42 | 47 | | seek any waiver or authorization from a federal agency necessary to |
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| 43 | 48 | | implement Section 532.0456, Government Code, as added by this Act. |
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| 44 | 49 | | The commission may delay implementing that section until the waiver |
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| 45 | 50 | | or authorization is granted. |
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| 46 | 51 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 47 | 52 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 48 | 53 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 49 | 54 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 50 | 55 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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