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House Bill 2056 |
House Author: Klick et al. |
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Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Perry et al. |
House Bill 2056 amends the Government Code, Health and Safety Code, Insurance Code, and the Dental Practice Act and the Texas Pharmacy Act, Occupations Code, to establish a teledentistry dental service as a telehealth service. Among other provisions, the bill requires the State Board of Dental Examiners and the Texas State Board of Pharmacy to jointly adopt rules relating to the provision of teledentistry dental services and to jointly develop and publish on each respective board's website responses to frequently asked questions relating to the determination of a valid prescription issued in the course of the provision of those services. The bill requires a pharmacist and a pharmacy, under the Texas Pharmacy Act, to determine that a valid practitioner‑patient relationship is present between the practitioner and the patient for teledentistry dental services.
House Bill 2056 provides for reimbursement under Medicaid and CHIP for teledentistry dental services provided to children with special health care needs and for Medicaid reimbursement for teledentistry dental services provided by a dentist licensed to practice dentistry in Texas at the same rate as the Medicaid program reimburses for the same in‑person dental service. Effective January 1, 2022, an applicable health benefit plan must provide coverage for a covered health care service or procedure delivered by a preferred or contracted health professional to a covered patient as a teledentistry dental service on the same basis and to the same extent that the plan provides coverage for the service or procedure in an in‑person setting and the issuer of such a plan must adopt and display in a conspicuous manner on the issuer's website the issuer's policies and payment practices for teledentistry dental services. Except as otherwise provided, the bill takes effect September 1, 2021.