BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1629

By: Guerra

Human Services

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

A thorough and complete review of the state's Medicaid dental policies has not been completed in over a decade. The current policies were written before the state transitioned to the managed care model for the delivery of nearly all Medicaid services. Given the substantial amount of money the state spends providing dental services to children on Medicaid, there have been calls for the state to review its policies to reduce wasteful spending and improve patient care. H.B. 1629 seeks to provide for the establishment of a work group to provide recommendations to improve the Texas Medicaid Provider Procedure Manual.

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. 1629 requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission to establish a work group to provide recommendations to improve the Texas Medicaid Provider Procedures Manual in a manner that prevents the incidence of fraud, waste, or abuse in the provision of Medicaid dental services. The bill provides for the appointment of work group members, to include:

· a representative of HHSC;

· the Medicaid dental director;

· a representative of HHSC's office of inspector general;

· at least one stakeholder to represent the following:

o managed care organizations that contract with HHSC to provide Medicaid dental services;

o providers of Medicaid dental services; and

o dental academia; and

· additional stakeholders or other persons the executive commissioner of HHSC determines appropriate.

The bill provides for the workgroup's administration and operation.

H.B. 1629 requires the work group to do the following:

· review all provisions in the manual related to the provision of Medicaid dental services;

· determine which provisions can be eliminated or changed to prevent fraud, waste, or abuse in the provision of dental services, including changes related to the use of dental procedure codes by providers;

· make recommendations to the executive commissioner for improving the manual to prevent fraud, waste, or abuse in the provision of dental services; and

· submit a report on its recommendations to the executive commissioner not later than December 31, 2022.

H.B. 1629 requires the executive commissioner to do the following on receiving the work group's recommendations:

· consider immediately adopting the recommendations that do not require legislative action; and

· if implementation of a recommendation requires legislative action, submit to the legislature a copy of the report together with the executive commissioner's recommendations for any legislative action.

H.B. 1629 expires and the work group is abolished on January 1, 2023.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.