IML S.B. 514 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS PUBLIC HEALTH S.B. 514 By: Moncrief (Maxey) 4-30-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Currently, the Health and Human Services Commission is statutorily responsible for administering the state's Medicaid program, but a number of state agencies are involved in program implementation. The state is required to maintain a fair hearings system for Medicaid beneficiaries whose claims for services have been denied, reduced, terminated, or not acted upon with reasonable promptness. However, each agency has its own hearings process and due to significant differences among these processes, procedures and outcomes are inconsistent. Legislation is needed to promote a consistent and dependable hearings process for all Medicaid funded services. PURPOSE S.B. 514 requires the commissioner of health and human services to promulgate uniform fair hearing rules for all Medicaid funded services. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of health and human services in SECTION 1 (Section 531.024(6), Government Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 531.024, Government Code, by adding subsection (6) to require the commissioner of health and human services to promulgate uniform fair hearing rules for all Medicaid funded services. Makes conforming changes. SECTION 2. Effective date is September 1, 1997. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.