86R349 KFF-D
 
  By: Davis of Harris H.B. No. 767
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the evaluation of and reporting on certain Medicaid
  waiver projects.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 531.021111 to read as follows:
         Sec. 531.021111.  SECTION 1115 WAIVER PROJECTS: FINAL
  EVALUATION REPORTS; REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Section 1115 waiver program" means a federally
  funded program of the state under Medicaid that is authorized under
  Section 1115 of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section
  1315). 
               (2)  "Waiver project" means any experimental, pilot, or
  demonstration project implemented by an entity other than a state
  agency and funded, wholly or partly, using federal money received
  under a Section 1115 waiver program.
         (b)  The commission shall require each entity that receives
  funding to implement a waiver project in this state to, not later
  than the 30th day after the date the period authorized for the
  project terminates and regardless of whether the project is
  continuing for another period, submit a final evaluation report to
  the commission. A final evaluation report must: 
               (1)  be based on:
                     (A)  quantitative research methods involving the
  empirical investigation of the impact of key programmatic features
  of the waiver project; or
                     (B)  if quantitative designs are technically
  infeasible or not well suited to the change sought by the waiver
  project, an alternative design approved by the commission;
               (2)  minimize the burden on recipients and project
  recipient privacy while ensuring the impact of the waiver project
  is measured;
               (3)  discuss the hypothesis being tested by the waiver
  project;
               (4)  discuss the data used to conduct the evaluation,
  including monitoring and reporting conducted during the waiver
  project and the methods used for collecting the data;
               (5)  include a description of how the effects of the
  waiver project are isolated from other factors that may contribute
  to the change sought; and
               (6)  include any other information the commission
  determines appropriate.
         (c)  The commission shall, as soon as practicable, but not
  later than the 30th day after the date the commission receives a
  final evaluation report under this section:
               (1)  submit a copy of the report along with the
  commission's recommendations regarding the continuation of the
  waiver project to the standing committees of the senate and house of
  representatives with jurisdiction over Medicaid; and
               (2)  make a copy of the report available to the public
  on the commission's Internet website.
         (d)  The commission's recommendations under Subsection
  (c)(1) must:
               (1)  include a statement regarding whether the waiver
  project should be modified in any manner, made permanent,
  eliminated, or extended to allow more time for review; and
               (2)  provide justification for the recommendations,
  including a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the waiver project.
         SECTION 2.  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 that 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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.