BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1600

By: Thompson, Senfronia

Public Health

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties note the need for early mental illness detection and intervention and contend that access to mental health screenings for certain children enrolled in Medicaid is too limited. The purpose of H.B. 1600 is to address this limited access by providing for an annual mental health screening.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1600 amends the Human Resources Code to require the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, in the rules governing the Texas Health Steps program, to require that at least one mental health screening be provided under the program using one or more validated, standardized mental health screening tools to each recipient who is at least 12 years of age but younger than 19 years of age, require that such a screening be conducted during a recipient's annual medical exam, allow a provider to conduct a screening using one or more such tools during each such exam, and only allow a provider to be reimbursed for conducting one screening using one or more such tools during each such exam.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.