SRC-CDH S.B. 514 75(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterS.B. 514
By: Moncrief
Health & Human Services
2-13-97
As Filed


DIGEST 

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.  This legislation grants the
commissioner of health and human services the authority to promulgate
hearing rules for all Medicaid funded services in order to improve the
consistency and dependability of the hearings process. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 514 requires the Health and Human Services Commission to
promulgate uniform fair hearing rules for all Medicaid funded services. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is granted to the commissioner of health and human
services in SECTION 1 (Section 531.024, Government Code) of this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 531.024, Government Code, 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:  September 1, 1997.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.