Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas These reforms are critically needed to focus our health care dollars on the outcomes we want for our patients and contain the unsustainable growth in our Health & Human Services budget said State Senator Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) as the Senate & House today passed SB 7 legislation authored by her to expand Medicaid managed care and streamline programs to achieve cost savings needed to balance the Health & Human Services Budget. The bill now goes to the governor.
SB 7 includes portions of three bills filed by Senator Nelson during the regular session --
- SB 23 relating to efficiencies cost-savings and fraud prevention in Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP);
- SB 7 achieving savings in Medicaid and CHIP by re-focusing our health care dollars on better patient outcomes; and
- SB 8 allowing health care providers to form collaboratives to better coordinate care free from burdensome federal regulations.
Senate Bill 7 achieves at least $467 million in savings assumed in the state budget. The bill:
- places prescription drug benefits into Medicaid managed care with existing patient protections;
- implements an electronic visit verification system to deter fraud in community care programs;
repeals the prohibition against managed care in South Texas;- implements co-payments for non-emergency visits to hospital emergency rooms;
- aligns Medicaid and CHIP reimbursement with patient outcomes rather than quantity of services;
- creates the health care collaborative certificate to provide safe harbor from antitrust laws for providers who join together to provide care that promotes quality patient engagement and coordination of services;
- implements public reporting of hospital rates of preventable re-admissions and complications;
- authorizes Texas to enter into a health care compact with other states to design programs that meet the states unique needs; and
- contains limitations against public tax dollars being used for abortions.
Allowing providers to take a team approach to patient care will help reduce errors and duplicative tests and treatments resulting in healthier patients Senator Nelson said.
