C.S.H.B. 2448 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.H.B. 2448
By: Chavez
Border and International Affairs
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The border currently has an acute shortage of nurses and physicians who
perform primary and preventive care. The state and federal government has
designated most counties along the border as medically underserved areas
and health professional shortage areas due to this lack of health care
professionals. This shortage is in addition to the fact that border
counties experience rates of infectious diseases, and diabetes that are
higher than the state and national average. For example, death from
diabetes is 55 percent more frequent along the border than in the rest
state.  Currently, over one third of the citizens along the Texas-Mexico
border are uninsured. 

A possible solution would be to access the skills of medical students and
encourage their voluntary involvement in community clinics providing
primary and preventive care. C.S.H.B. 2448 would establish an advisory
committee to oversee a Border Health and Education Partnership (BHEP). The
BHEP,  through professional and educational partnerships, would create
programs that would allow students to work as health care providers.
C.S.H.B. 2448 would also require the advisory committee to apply for
existing state, local, and federal government grants, as well as private
grants in order to fund these programs.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority
to a state officer, department, agency or institution. 

ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. C.S.H.B. 2448 amends the Health and Safety Code by requiring
the Texas Department of Health (TDH) to establish the Border Health and
Education Partnership. The bill requires the TDH to determine which areas
of the Texas-Mexico Border region are medically underserved areas for
purposes of this chapter based on the medical needs and access to medical
care for the area's residents. 

The bill provides for the appointment and composition of an advisory
committee (committee).  The bill requires the committee to develop
recommendations to TDH to coordinate public and private resources to
promote community service and to develop studies and pilot projects to
improve access to primary care services for populations along the
Texas-Mexico Border by using health care practitioners and students of the
health care professions as volunteers for these programs. C.S.H.B. 2448
requires the committee to partner institutions of higher education with
community health clinics for the purpose of establishing these
recommendations. The bill provides that the TDH, after considering the
recommendations of the committee, must have certain duties and
responsibilities. 

SECTION 2. Effective Date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2003. 



 COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2448 amends the original by requiring the advisory committee to
recommend pilot programs to TDH, rather than enacting pilot programs, for
the Border Health and Education Partnership. The substitute amends the
original by providing duties and responsibilities to the Department of
Health after consideration of the recommendations of the committee, rather
than providing those duties and responsibilities to the advisory
committee. The substitute also makes nonsubstantive technical changes.