Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 2602 amends the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act to keep the minimum eligibility standards relating to net income set at a level equal to 21 percent of the federal poverty level, rather than at 25 percent as it was scheduled to be after December 31, 2001. It expands the authority of the Texas Department of Health relating to disagreements between counties and providers to cover disagreements concerning a patient's eligibility and authorizes, rather than requires, the department to adopt rules for maximum annual allocations to counties. The bill also amends the Government Code to allocate five percent of any amount in the tertiary care account each fiscal year to the indigent care program. Provisions of the bill relating to the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act take effect September 1, 2001. The remainder of the bill takes effect June 15, 2001.