Honorable Myra Crownover, Chair, House Committee on Public Health
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2082 by Laubenberg (Relating to developing a program to provide telemedicine medical services to certain children.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined at this time because the scope of the telemedicine program would require waiver approval from and be determined by negotiations with the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The bill requires the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to implement a program to provide telemedicine medical services for certain children in their residences. A child would be eligible for inclusion in the program if they are recipients of medical assistance and have been diagnosed with an end-state solid organ disease or a condition that requires mechanical ventilation, that the child be technology-dependent, or that the child be treated by three or more specialists.
HHSC would be required to submit a report to the legislature on the outcomes of the program no later than January 1, 2019. The report must evaluate clinical outcomes and must include the program's success in reducing emergency department visits and the program's impact on medical costs.
HHSC estimates there would be a significant cost to implement the provisions of this bill, but that it cannot be determined at this time, as the scope of the program would require waiver approval from and be determined by negotiations with the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.