By: Blanco, Johnson  S.B. No. 1911
         (In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2021; April 1, 2021, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Health & Human Services;
  April 20, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 20, 2021,
  sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1911 By:  Buckingham
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the content of an application for Medicaid.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 32.025, Human Resources Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (h) to read as
  follows:
         (g)  The application form, including a renewal form, adopted
  under this section must include:
               (1)  for an applicant who is pregnant, a question
  regarding whether the pregnancy is the woman's first gestational
  pregnancy; [and]
               (2)  for all applicants, a question regarding the
  applicant's preferences for being contacted that provides the
  applicant with the option to be contacted[, as follows:
                     ["If you are determined eligible for benefits,
  your managed care organization or health plan provider may contact
  you] by telephone, text message, or e-mail about health care
  matters, including reminders for appointments and information
  about immunizations or well check visits; and
               (3)  language that:
                     (A)  notifies the applicant that, if determined
  eligible for benefits, all preferred contact methods listed on the
  application and renewal forms will be shared with the applicant's
  managed care organization or health plan provider;
                     (B)  allows the applicant to consent to being
  contacted through the preferred contact methods by the applicant's
  managed care organization or health plan provider; and
                     (C)  explains the security risks of electronic
  communication. [All preferred methods of contact listed on this
  application will be shared with your managed care organization or
  health plan provider. Please indicate below your preferred methods
  of contact in order of preference, with the number 1 being the most
  preferable method:
               [(1)  By telephone (if contacted by cellular telephone,
  the call may be autodialed or prerecorded, and your carrier's usage
  rates may apply)? Yes No
               [Telephone number: _____________
               [Order of preference: 1 2 3 (circle a number)
               [(2)  By text message (a free autodialed service, but
  your carrier may charge message and data rates)? Yes No
               [Cellular telephone number: ______________
               [Order of preference: 1 2 3 (circle a number)
               [(3)  By e-mail? Yes No
               [E-mail address: __________________
               [Order of preference: 1 2 3 (circle a number)".]
         (h)  For purposes of Subsections (g)(2) and (3), the
  commission shall implement a process to:
               (1)  transmit the applicant's preferred contact methods
  and consent to the managed care organization or health plan
  provider;
               (2)  allow an applicant to change the applicant's
  preferences in the future, including providing for an option to opt
  out of electronic communication; and
               (3)  communicate updated information to the managed
  care organization or health plan provider. 
         SECTION 2.  Not later than January 1, 2022, the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
  adopt a revised application form for medical assistance benefits
  that conforms to the requirements of Section 32.025(g), Human
  Resources Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 3.  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 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
 
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