By: Nelson S.B. No. 760

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to participation and reimbursement of telemedicine medical service providers under the Medicaid program.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 531.0216, Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(c) The commission shall encourage health care providers and [physicians, teaching hospitals, small rural hospitals, federally qualified health centers, and state-owned] health care facilities to participate as telemedicine medical service providers in the health care delivery system. The commission may not require that a service be provided to a patient through telemedicine medical services when the service can reasonably be provided by a physician through a face-to-face consultation with the patient in the community in which the patient resides or works. This subsection does not prohibit the authorization of the provision of any service to a patient through telemedicine medical services at the patient's request.

(d) Subject to Section 153.004, Occupations Code, the commission may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section. In the rules adopted under this section, the commission shall:

(1) refer to the site where the patient is physically located as the patient site; and

(2) refer to the site where the physician providing the telemedicine medical service is physically located as the distant site.

SECTION 2. Subsection (d), Section 531.02163, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) The commission shall provide reimbursement under the state Medicaid program to a physician for overseeing a telemedicine consultation at a telemedicine distant [hub] site if the telepresenter at the patient [remote] site is another physician or is an advanced practice nurse, registered nurse, or physician assistant acting under physician delegation and supervision throughout the consultation.

SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a federal agency is necessary for implementation of the provision, the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the waiver or authorization is granted.

SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall modify rules adopted by the executive commissioner to implement Subsection (d), Section 531.0216, and Subsection (d), Section 531.02163, Government Code, before the effective date of this Act to conform to the changes in law made to those sections by this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.