| TO: | Honorable Lois W. Kolkhorst, Chair, House Committee on Public Health |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB891 by Villarreal (Relating to the capacity of certain minors to consent to examination or medical treatment related to contraception.), As Introduced |
The bill would allow children who are 16 years of age or older, unmarried, and the mother of a child to consent to examination or medical treatment, other than abortion or emergency contraception, related to contraception.
According to the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), under federal law, minors enrolled in Medicaid are already permitted to consent to their own contraceptive family planning services; no fiscal impact to that program is anticipated. HHSC also indicates no impact to the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) because contraception is not a covered benefit. The Department of State Health Services indicates that there could be a small increase in the number of clients served through the agency's family planning programs, but that any increased cost can be absorbed within existing resources.
To the extent that the provisions of the bill result in increased access to and use of family planning services, there could be a savings to state programs that serve children, including Medicaid and CHIP, due to averted or delayed births; the amount of savings cannot be determined, but would likely be small.
| Source Agencies: | 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 537 State Health Services, Department of
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, LR, CL
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