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House Public Health
The House Public Health Committee met on Wednesday to consider a number of bills
HB 1738
HB 1738 was proposed to Committee by , Representative Ryan Guillen. HB 1738 relates to telehealth and home telemonitoring services, including the provision of those services under Medicaid. Chairman Lucio laid out the bill on behalf of Chairman Guillen. He discussed that the bill would do three things. First, children with solid organ disease and organ transplant or others diagnosed with severe asthma would qualify for home telemonitoring services. Second HB 1738 will create a study for the Health and Human Services Commission to evaluate telehealth services, fraud, waste abuse so that it can further ensure efficiency. Finally, the bill removes the sunset on medical reimbursement for telemonitoring services. HB 1738 was left Pending.
The discussion on HB 1738 can be found here.
House Human Services
The House Committee on Human Services met on Tuesday under the direction of Chairman Frank to hear testimony on 13 bills.
HB 744
The Committee considered HB 744 filed by Rep. Rose. HB 744 relates to the Medicaid eligibility of certain women after . Rep. Rose presented her bill before the Committee and described it as fiscally prudent and medically sound. The bill amends the Human Resource Code whereby the State would continue to provide Medicaid benefits to eligible women for a year after delivery or miscarriage. Chairman Frank inquired over what the Healthy Texas Women Program is not doing to provide for these mothers that HB 744 would cover.
There was public testimony from Dr. Moss Hampton who spoke in support of the bill on behalf of Texas Medical Association, Texas Academy of Family Physicians and Texas Pediatric Society. Dr. Hampton stated that mothers are dying in Texas, and the vast majority of these deaths are preventable. Black women and those with chronic illness are particularly at risk, and they lose their Medicaid coverage after 60 days. The Healthy Texas Women Program is a general screening program that can identify conditions, but these women need the complex treatment that is lost when they are removed from Medicaid coverage. Rev. Deneen Robinson, Afiya Center, testified in support of the bill and spoke on the limitations of the Healthy Texas Women provisions, noting the leading recommendation of the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force has consistently been to extend Medicaid for one year. The Chair closed discussion on HB 744 and left the bill pending in committee.
Discussion on HB 744 can be found here.
HB 1063
The Committee considered HB 1063, filed by Rep. Price, relating to the reimbursement of providers for the provision of certain home telemonitoring services under Medicaid. Rep. Price provided background for the bill, noting that technology has advanced the potential value of telemonitoring healthcare services. Telemonitoring allows physicians to follow-up remotely and ensure patients’ compliance with treatment plans. It can also reduce trips to visit the healthcare provider in person.
Rep. Price stated that currently, the state permits telemonitoring to be reimbursed for patients with specific diagnoses. However, pediatric healthcare providers have noted that these diagnoses are specific to adult patients. These pediatric providers stress that children with certain conditions would also benefit from telemonitoring services. The purpose of this bill is to add four pediatric patient conditions to the list of those conditions allowed for home telemonitoring Medicaid services. These conditions 1. A child concurrently treated by at least 3 healthcare specialists, 2. A child diagnosed with solid organ disease, 3. A child who has received an organ transplant, and 4. A child requiring mechanical ventilation. The second purpose of this bill is to repeal the current telemonitoring Sunset clause, which is set to expire in September of 2019.
There was public testimony in support of HB 1063 from Sarah Mills, Texas Association of Home Care and Hospice. Ms. Mills stated the cost of the benefit of $617 a day per patient is remarkable compared to that of hospital reimbursement. Additionally, a resource witness from HHSC was asked about the fiscal impact of the bill, specifically a cost-effective analysis. The witness answered that a cost analysis has not been done yet. There was also testimony in favor of the bill from the Children’s Health Hospital and the Texas E-Health Alliance. This concluded the discussion on HB 1063, and Chairman Frank left the bill pending in committee.
Discussion on HB 1063 can be found here.
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