| TO: | Honorable Lois W. Kolkhorst, Chair, House Committee on Public Health |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB2459 by King, Susan (Relating to health care information submitted to the Department of State Health Services.), As Introduced |
The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) handles the duties of the Texas Health Care Information Council, including the collection of certain patient data from health care facilities and health maintenance organizations. The bill would amend Section 108.009 of the Health and Safety Code to allow providers who would otherwise be required to submit data the option to not participate in the data collection program; providers electing to participate would be required to notify patients of participation. The bill would require DSHS to post on its website a list of entities purchasing or receiving data collected under this chapter. The bill would go into effect immediately if it received two-thirds vote in each house, otherwise it would take effect September 1, 2011.
DSHS indicates that the cost of the website posting would be minimal and could be absorbed using current resources. The provisions of the bill could result in an undetermined loss of revenue to the state from the sale of reports if the decrease in provider submissions is large enough to affect the quality and quantity of data available for the reports.
| Source Agencies: | 537 State Health Services, Department of
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, CL, MB, VJC, NB
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