HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

 

COMMITTEE:    Health Care Reform, Select 

TIME & DATE:  10:00 AM, Thursday, August 4, 2022 

PLACE:       E2.010 
CHAIR:       Rep. Sam Harless 

 

The Select Committee on Health Care Reform will meet to hear invited testimony only over the following interim charges.

 

If the Committee does not complete its hearing of all invited testimony, it will recess to Friday, August 5, at 9:00 a.m. in Room E2.010 to continue hearing invited testimony only on these interim charges.

 

1. Study the implications of excessive health care costs on the efficacy of Texas Medicaid and the private health insurance market and the resulting impact on individual Texans, businesses, and state government.

 

·                Examine the interaction of specific factors of health care affordability such as transparency, competition, and patient incentives.  Make recommendations to expand access to health care price information to allow consumers to make informed decisions regarding their care;

·                Examine the impact of government benefit, administrative, and contractual mandates imposed upon private insurance companies and their impact on employer and consumer premiums and out-of-pocket costs, including the effects of specific benefit and any-willing-provider requirements.  Make recommendations for state and agency-level mandates and regulations that could be relaxed or repealed to increase the availability and affordability of private health coverage options in the state;

·                Review access to and affordability of prescription drugs;

 

2. Monitor the implementation of, and compliance with, current price transparency requirements and study ways that the state can support patients and increase competition.  Make legislative and administrative recommendations, as appropriate;

 

3. Evaluate innovative, fiscally positive options to ensure that Texans have access to affordable, quality and comprehensive health care, with an emphasis on reaching low-income and at-risk populations.  The evaluation should include a study of strategies other states and organizations have implemented or proposed to address health care access and affordability.  Make recommendations to increase primary health care access points in Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

Electronic public comments will be available for:

 

Implications of excessive health care costs

 

Current price transparency requirements

 

Access to affordable, quality, and comprehensive health care

 

 

For those persons who will be testifying, information for in-person

witness registration, can be found here:

https://mytxlegis.capitol.texas.gov/HWRSPublic/About.aspx

 

A live video broadcast of this hearing will be available here:

https://house.texas.gov/video-audio/

 

Instructions related to public access to the meeting location and health

and safety protocols for attending this meeting are available here:

https://house.texas.gov/committees/public-access-house-committee-meetings/

 

Texas residents who wish to electronically submit comments related to

agenda items on this notice without testifying in person can do so until

the hearing is adjourned by visiting:

https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c307

 

 

 

 

 

NOTICE OF ASSISTANCE AT PUBLIC MEETINGS

Persons with disabilities who plan to attend this meeting and who may need assistance, such as a sign language interpreter, are requested to contact Stacey Nicchio at (512) 463-0850, 72 hours prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made.