By: Carona S.B. No. 1574
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the exchange of information between the Texas Workers'
Compensation Commission and certain licensing agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (b), Section 413.0511, Labor Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The medical advisor shall make recommendations
regarding the adoption of rules to:
(1) develop, maintain, and review guidelines as
provided by Section 413.011, including rules regarding impairment
ratings;
(2) review compliance with those guidelines;
(3) regulate or perform other acts related to medical
benefits as required by the commission;
(4) impose sanctions or delete doctors from the
commission's list of approved doctors under Section 408.023 for:
(A) any reason described by Section 408.0231; or
(B) noncompliance with commission rules;
(5) impose conditions or restrictions as authorized by
Section 408.0231(f);
(6) receive, and share with the medical quality review
panel established under Section 413.0512, confidential information
and other information to which access is otherwise restricted by
law, as provided by Sections 413.0512, 413.0513, and 413.0514, from
the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, the Texas Board of
Chiropractic Examiners, or other occupational licensing boards
regarding [disciplinary actions imposed on] a physician,
chiropractor, or other type of doctor who applies for registration
or is registered with the commission on the list of approved
doctors; and
(7) determine minimal modifications to the
reimbursement methodology and model used by the Medicare system as
necessary to meet occupational injury requirements.
SECTION 2. Section 413.0513, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 413.0513. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) Information
collected, assembled, or maintained by or on behalf of the
commission under Section 413.0511 or 413.0512 constitutes an
investigation file for purposes of Section 402.092[,] and [that is
confidential under law,] may not be disclosed under Section
413.0511 or 413.0512 except as provided by that section[:
[(1) in a criminal proceeding;
[(2) in a hearing conducted by or on behalf of the
commission;
[(3) in a hearing conducted by another licensing or
regulatory authority, as provided in the interagency agreement; or
[(4) on a finding of good cause in an administrative or
judicial proceeding involving the enforcement of this subtitle or
in a disciplinary action under this subtitle].
(b) Confidential information, and other information to
which access is restricted by law, developed by or on behalf of the
commission under Section 413.0511 or 413.0512 is not subject to
discovery or court subpoena in any action other than:
(1) an action to enforce this subtitle brought by the
commission, an appropriate licensing or regulatory agency, or an
appropriate enforcement authority; or
(2) a criminal proceeding.
SECTION 3. Subchapter E, Chapter 413, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Sections 413.0514 and 413.0515 to read as
follows:
Sec. 413.0514. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION WITH LICENSING
ENTITIES. (a) This section applies only to information in the
possession of the commission or of the Texas State Board of Medical
Examiners or the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners that relates
to a person licensed or otherwise regulated by one of those
agencies.
(b) A state agency described by Subsection (a) may, on
request or on its own initiative, share confidential information or
other information to which access is restricted by law with any
other state agency described by Subsection (a) for purposes of
enforcing this subtitle or investigating a violation of this
subtitle.
(c) Except as provided by this section, confidential
information that is shared under this section remains confidential
under law, and any legal restriction on access to the information
remains in effect. An agency that provides information to the
commission under this section does not waive a privilege or
confidentiality requirement established under law.
(d) The commission shall maintain the confidentiality of
any information received under this section and may not disclose
the information except as necessary to further the investigation
for which the information was received.
(e) The agencies described by Subsection (a) shall
cooperate with and assist each other when conducting an
investigation by providing information that the sending agency
determines is relevant to the investigation. Except as provided by
this section, confidential information that is shared remains
confidential and any legal restriction on access to the information
remains in effect unless the sending agency approves the use of the
information by the receiving agency for enforcement purposes.
(f) Section 402.092 applies to information received by the
commission under this section.
(g) The agencies described by Subsection (a) shall provide
information to each other agency described by Subsection (a) on all
disciplinary actions taken by the agency.
Sec. 413.0515. REPORTS OF PHYSICIAN AND CHIROPRACTOR
VIOLATIONS. (a) If the commission or the Texas State Board of
Medical Examiners discovers an act or omission by a physician that
may constitute a felony, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, a
violation of state or federal narcotics or controlled substance
law, an offense involving fraud or abuse under the Medicare or
Medicaid program, or a violation of this subtitle, the agency shall
report that act or omission to the other agency.
(b) If the commission or the Texas Board of Chiropractic
Examiners discovers an act or omission by a chiropractor that may
constitute a felony, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, a
violation of state or federal narcotics or controlled substance
law, an offense involving fraud or abuse under the Medicare or
Medicaid program, or a violation of this subtitle, the agency shall
report that act or omission to the other agency.
SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 160.006, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A record, report, or other information received and
maintained by the board under this subchapter or Subchapter B,
including any material received or developed by the board during an
investigation or hearing and the identity of, and reports made by, a
physician performing or supervising compliance monitoring for the
board, is confidential. The board may disclose this information
only:
(1) in a disciplinary hearing before the board or in a
subsequent trial or appeal of a board action or order;
(2) to the physician licensing or disciplinary
authority of another jurisdiction, to a local, state, or national
professional medical society or association, or to a medical peer
review committee located inside or outside this state that is
concerned with granting, limiting, or denying a physician hospital
privileges;
(3) under a court order; [or]
(4) to qualified personnel for bona fide research or
educational purposes, if personally identifiable information
relating to any physician or other individual is first deleted; or
(5) to the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission as
provided by Section 413.0514, Labor Code.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.