LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                                May 7, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Patricia Gray, Chair, House Committee on Public
               Health
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB1041  by Ellis, Rodney (Relating to services provided
               through telemedicine for children with special health
               care needs.), As Engrossed
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
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The bill would implement e-Texas recommendation HHS 10, related to
expanding the use of telemedicine to help disabled children.

The bill would require the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP),
the Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) program, and the
Medicaid program to provide reimbursement for telemedicine services for
children with special health care needs.  Both the Health and Human
Services Commission (HHSC), which operates CHIP, and the Department of
Health (TDH), which operates the Medicaid and CSHCN programs, assume the
bill would only require the provision of telemedicine services if these
services are determined to be fiscally neutral to the relevant operating
program.  Therefore, HHSC and TDH assume implementation of the bill would
not have a significant fiscal impact.

The Department of Human Services assumes the bill would not apply to
community-based services operated by the agency.

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) assumes the
bill would not have a significant fiscal impact.
  
Local Government Impact
  
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
  
  
Source Agencies:   720   The University of Texas System, 529   Health
                   and Human Services Commission, 324   Texas Department
                   of Human Services, 304   Comptroller of Public
                   Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, HD, PP