BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1621

By: Lujan

Public Health

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that the federal 21st Century Cures Act requires providers to meet interoperability standards and offer patients digital access to their health information through portals and applications. The bill author has informed the committee that a recent readiness survey revealed that most freestanding psychiatric hospitals lack the infrastructure to meet these standards, with many still relying on fax or email to exchange patient data, leading to care fragmentation, clinical delays, and risks such as medication errors. C.S.H.B. 1621 seeks to provide financial assistance to hospitals that deliver mental health services to implement or enhance technology infrastructure by requiring HHSC to establish a state-administered matching grant program to support technological modernization at hospitals providing mental health care services.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1621 amends the Government Code to require the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to establish a matching grant program to enhance the technological capabilities of hospitals providing mental health care services in Texas. The bill applies to a hospital licensed under the Texas Hospital Licensing Law and a licensed mental hospital.

C.S.H.B. 1621 requires a hospital, to be eligible for such a grant, to align with the interoperability and technology standards in the federal 21st Century Cures Act, demonstrate the hospital's planned uses for the grant money and matching funds to improve the quality of and access to mental health care services in Texas, and meet any other additional eligibility criteria established by HHSC.

C.S.H.B. 1621 requires HHSC to condition each grant provided to a hospital on the hospital providing funds from non-state sources in an amount equal to 100 percent of the grant amount. The bill authorizes the hospital to seek and receive gifts, grants, or donations from any person to raise the required non-state sourced funds. The bill authorizes a hospital awarded a grant to use the grant money and matching funds for the following purposes:

· purchasing a data recording platform for certified electronic health data;

· expanding the interoperability of health information in the hospital or as part of a network with other health care providers;

· expanding a patient's access to the patient's digital health records and mental health care services;

· improving information technology infrastructure for data privacy and patient information security, including consent management; and

· improving the efficiency of mental health care service provision through the use and interconnectivity of mobile devices.

The bill authorizes HHSC to solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from any source to award the grants.

C.S.H.B. 1621 requires HHSC, not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, to submit a report to the legislature regarding the results of the matching grant program and authorizes the executive commissioner of HHSC to adopt any rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1621 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

While the introduced required HHSC to condition each grant provided to a hospital on the hospital providing funds from non-state sources in an amount equal to 25 percent of the grant amount, the substitute requires HHSC to do so in an amount equal to 100 percent of the grant amount.

The introduced authorized HHSC to adopt any rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions, whereas the substitute specifies instead that the executive commissioner of HHSC is authorized to adopt such rules.