HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOTICE OF FORMAL REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

COMMITTEE:    Human Services
             Interim Charges 2.2-2.5, 4, 5 and other topics 

TIME & DATE:  N/A
Friday, August 14, 2020 

PLACE:       N/A 
CHAIR:       Rep. James B. Frank 

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and difficulty in scheduling public hearings at this time, the committee is conducting necessary oversight functions through an information gathering process under Section 301.014, Government Code. 

This is notice that the committee is seeking information and input on the topics listed below. Submissions received in response to this request will be transmitted to members of the committee and posted on the House website at https://house.texas.gov/committees/committee/requests-for-information/?committeeCode=C310.

All submissions must be in Word format and are limited to 5 pages in length for each topic listed below, including all graphs, charts, illustrations, photos and data tables. Please submit a separate document for each topic. Submissions must include name, organization (if applicable and an authorized representative), mailing address, e-mail and telephone number. Please clearly label each submission with the topic on which you are responding.

Submissions must be sent via e-mail to Courtney DeBower, assistant committee clerk, at Courtney.DeBower_HC@house.texas.gov by 5:00pm on September 25, 2020.

Topics:

Health Care Access and Medicaid: Examine innovative approaches and delivery models to reduce health care costs for both patients and taxpayers, including policies that other states have implemented. Consider recommendations to implement such models. Study the impact that "direct care" health care models may have on Medicaid beneficiaries for acute care and mental health services, including potential cost savings and improvement in quality metrics. Examine efforts other states have made seeking to implement direct care models, particularly in Medicaid or in charitable health care delivery.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Long-Term Care Facilities: Consider the following issues in light of the COVID-19 pandemic:

     1) Review the state's response to the pandemic, specifically as it relates to emergency regulations that prohibited visitation of residents of long-term care facilities by family members. Examine the physical and mental health impacts of the visitation policy on long-term care residents.

     2) Review emergency waivers of regulations of long-term care facilities during the pandemic and make recommendations on whether regulations should be permanently waived or removed.

Interim Charge 2.2 - 2.5: Review how Texas is preparing for state and federal budgetary changes that impact the state's health programs, including:
 

     2.2) The next phase of the 1115 Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program Waiver;

     2.3) Texas’ Targeted Opioid Response Grant;

     2.4) The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability rule; and

     2.5) The Healthy Texas Women Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver.

Interim Charge 4: Examine the long-term services and support system of care in Texas. Study workforce challenges for both institutional and community services, with a focus on home- and community-based services in the state's STAR+PLUS program. Review what impact funding provided by the 86th Legislature to increase the base wage for community attendant services and the increased funding for rate enhancements have on workforce retention and quality. Consider options to both stabilize and expand the workforce. Review the long-term care programs and services available to Texas' seniors, including community alternatives to institutional care available through programs like the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. Examine the adequacy of current funding mechanisms, including Medicaid reimbursement rates and supplemental or add-on payments, to incentivize high-quality care. Consider mechanisms to promote a stable, sustainable and quality-based long-term care system to address current and future needs of the state.

Interim Charge 5: Examine the adequacy of Medicaid reimbursements for nursing facilities, including existing incentive-based payment models and the Quality Incentive Payment Program. Consider and make recommendations to incentivize innovative models of care delivery in nursing home facilities. Study the impact of the STAR+PLUS managed care program on nursing facility care, operations and patient health outcomes, and consider recommendations to improve administrative processes between facilities and managed care organizations.

In the event it becomes feasible to safely conduct a public meeting, the Committee reserves the right to hold an in-person hearing on these

charges.