The committee met to take up new and pending business. This report focuses only on the bills listed below.
Pending Business
SB 1641 – West, Relating to developing and maintaining risk assessment criteria for use in determining whether an elderly or disabled person is in imminent risk of abuse.
- Reported favorably as substituted
- Local calendar
SB 1880 – Zaffirini, Relating to the authority of the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate abuse, neglect, or exploitation of individuals receiving services from certain providers.
- Reported favorably as substituted
SB 1889 – Zaffirini, Relating to the disclosure and use of certain information in the Department of Family and Protective Services central registry of child abuse or neglect cases and the report of certain information.
- Reported favorably as substituted
New Business
SB 1471 – Watson, Relating to the use of home telemonitoring services under the Medicaid program.
- Original legislation is set to expire September 1, 2015
- Bill strikes the specified conditions from statute and enables HHSC to establish eligible conditions through rulemaking when HHSC determines provision of services will be cost effective and feasible
- Allows HHSC to conduct a pilot program collecting information on other conditions
- Sets the expiration date to 2021
- Some concern about removing current list of conditions; would like the committee to consider if best to leave in or remove the list; the House bill is moving and does have the list of conditions in it
- Campbell asked who is monitoring
- Different depending on conditions; sometimes self-monitoring and sometimes a physician is monitoring
- Campbell asked if it is coming up just because of the expiration
- HHSC has done some work in determining what is effective but there is not as much data as there needs to be as the expiration date is coming up
Laurie Vanhoose, HHSC
- Resource
- In implementing this bill HHSC would do research and study other states to determine if services for certain conditions are effective and state
- HHSC is fine with the list staying in statute or taken out and deferred to HHSC
- Schwertner asked if there is just a minimal amount of data on effectiveness
- Correct; right now just telemonitoring for a limited set of conditions such as hypertension, diabetes
- Only provided through a home health agency or hospital; the physician prescribes the service and a set number of transmissions
- Schwertner asked if there are more conditions allowed in statute other than hypertension and diabetes
- Yes; there is a report due in 2016 as well regarding the current conditions implemented
Matt Moore, Children’s Health Center of Texas
- Support
- Testifying on behalf of Dr. Desai
- Telemonitoring is an amazing tool, it helps avoid unnecessary emergency room visits thus decreasing the risk of infection
- Telemonitoring prevents patients and their families from having to travel long distances to meet with doctors, in turn lowering transportation costs and taking unnecessary stress off of patients
- We need a stable and reliable reimbursement plan to keep the program going
Ed Stonebreaker, Guardian eHealth Solutions
- Support
- Discussed the benefits of telemonitoring; can reduce unnecessary hospitalizations
- Telehealth reduces the overall cost of health care
Rachel Hammond, Texas Association for Homecare and Hospice
- Support
- Home telemonitoring is fast becoming one of the more valuable tools in health care
Randy Hickle, Grace Health System
- Support
- Telehealth systems are improving health outcomes more and more
Bill left pending
SB 848 – Estes, Relating to the regulation of medical radiologic technology.
- Allows radiologist assistants to register and practice under supervision of a radiologist
- RAs would be certified through a nationally recognized exam
- Without state authorization, RAs have difficulty getting credentialed at hospitals
- Committee sub laid out and adopted
- Aligns with DSHS Sunset bill and changes a drafting error; removes the 24 hour requirement for continuing education and leaves that decision to the board
Vicky Sanders, American Society of Radiologic Technologists
- Support
- Will help RAs as well as access to services
Bill left pending
HB 1602 – Kolkhorst, Relating to the delivery of certain Medicaid managed care benefits and reimbursement rates for certain of those services.
- Bill came from constituents
- Committee substitute laid out
- Saves a billion dollars off the fiscal note by adding “if cost neutral to state”
- Strikes section 3 of filed version extending required contract provisions regarding PBM vendor drug program formularies
- Preserves and extends managed care agreements of SB 7 (83R)
- Mandates that the commission set minimum reimbursement rates to Medicare FFS rates for nursing facilities
- Ensures prior approval is not needed for emergency transportation to a hospital
- Preserves ten day prompt pay requirement between MCOs and nursing facilities
- Ensure Medicare reimbursement rates to nursing facilities are used at minimum rates in dual eligible demonstration
- Basically allows nursing facilities in Medicaid to continue to participate in STAR+PLUS and ensure dual eligible services are receiving the Medicare rate as a minimum
- Schwertner noted health plans probably do not like the provision changing the date from 2017 to 2019
Jamie Dudensing, TAHP
- Oppose
- Concerned about Sunset date for multi-formulary option in introduced bill; understand it has been taken out
- Concerned about statutorily setting reimbursement rates
- Concerned about 2019 date extension; also extends start date for significant traditional provider provisions; any willing provider provisions limit MCOs ability to negotiate
Phillip Hopkins, TAG Management
- Support
- Would like a little more time for rules to be ironed out between facilities and MCOs
Byron Burress, Self
- Support
- Will preserve some budgeting predictability for nursing homes
Martin Tomerlan, Legend Healthcare
- Support
- Ensuring Medicare rates are used as a minimum ensures funds are not diverted from patient care
Bill left pending