BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 985
79R7223 MSE-D By: Van de Putte
AUTHOR'S/SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Many Texas residents do not have health insurance. Emergency room use in the United States and in Texas is increasing. Currently, the percentage of insured adults visiting emergency rooms is decreasing, while the percentage of Medicare and uninsured adults is increasing. There is no routine reporting by Texas hospitals of what percentage of emergency room patients who are examined or treated are insured and uninsured.
As proposed, S.B. 985 requires the Texas Health Care Information Council, when collecting data, to include the percentage of patients examined or treated in the hospital's emergency room who are insured and the percentage who are uninsured.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in SECTION 2 of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 108.009, Health and Safety Code, by adding Subsection (p) to require data collected under this section (Data Submission and Collection) from a hospital to include health care data elements relating to the percentage of patients examined or treated in the hospital's emergency room who are insured and the percentage who are uninsured.
SECTION 2. Requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules relating to data submission requirements as required by Section 108.009, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2005.