AUSTIN – Consumer credit reporting agencies are now prohibited from including medical debt collection accounts in consumer reports thanks to Senate Bill 1037 by Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, and Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, which was signed Friday by Gov. Greg Abbott. The law takes effect immediately and represents a major step in protecting consumers from the long-lasting damage that can result from surprise billing in Texas, where patients are at an uncommonly high risk of receiving expensive surprise bills.

AUSTIN—The Texas Legislature acted today to keep prescription drug costs down by passing HB 2536 by Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, which requires drug pricing transparency by drug manufacturers, health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

Too often, government programs make headlines due to inefficiencies and cost overruns. But what if the state could adopt a program with a decades-long track record of containing health care cost growth to rates four times lower than national averages, while improving clients’ quality of care? While that may sound too good to be true, Texas was one of the first states to embrace this initiative, known as Medicaid managed care.

Jordan is now a senior at McAllen High School, but has come across some challenges getting to class, as he is also a member of his school’s band.

The facilities aim to add convenience by allowing patients to be seen faster than in full-service hospitals’ ERs — where overcrowding has been an issue — and by making emergency care more accessible in areas without a hospital nearby.

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) – Coloradans who need medical treatment often walk into free-standing emergency rooms thinking they are simply urgent care facilities or clinic and they don’t realize what the visit will cost them. When the bill arrives, they owe thousands of dollars.

It had happened so fast, a moment of play turned to blood and panic. Just before lunch 7-year-old Ava was on the floor with the family’s German shepherd. Pettit held out a pizza roll, but the dog lunged just as his daughter popped it in her mouth. Two holes opened in the little girl’s face where the dog’s teeth had been and she started to scream.

HHSC has released the Fact Book for 2017, which provides overview of Medicaid programs and caseloads and the 11th Edition of Medicaid/CHIP in Perspective (aka The Pink Book). You can view the Pink Book here.

HB 1917 (attached) was filed this week by Raymond, Zerwas, and Four Price. The bill extends the sunset date of the state run VDP Medicaid formulary to 2030. Current statute gives MCOs full control of the formulary in 2018. TAHP is strongly opposed to this bill and has begun making visits to share reasons for opposition. See our one-page legislative guide on the benefits and savings that will be achieved by transitioning the formulary to MCO management here.

The Texas Association of Freestanding Emergency Centers (TAFEC) issued a press release this week claiming 3,400 requests for mediations in Texas are complaints and have resulted in $750,000 in payments to providers as a result of underpayment by insurance companies. Here is a link to the report requested by Rep. Workman from TDI. TAFEC failed to mention that these 3,400 mediation requests to challenge surprise bills from providers totaled more than $6 million in billing and the ultimate result is that consumers were protected against more than $5 million in over-billing by providers. It is also important to note that as it stands, consumer mediation protections do not apply to FSERs. TAHP pointed out these discrepancies to the Dallas Morning News this week; stay tuned for a piece running later this week.

his week HHS released a proposed rule that takes steps aimed at stabilizing the individual and small group health insurance markets. The proposed rule “would make changes to special enrollment periods, the annual open enrollment period, guaranteed availability, network adequacy rules, essential community providers, and actuarial value requirements; and announces upcoming changes to the qualified health plan certification timeline.” Read more from AHIP here.

.HAC started meeting this week with presentations by the Legislative Budget Board. On Wednesday the LBB provided an overview of Medicaid. Total Medicaid funding in the 2016-17 adjusted base is $26.3 billion GR and $64.6 billion in AF. This includes an estimated $1.2 billion in GR funds above the 2016-17 Budget to complete fiscal year 2017 expenditures, which includes revenue adjustments, transfers, and assumed supplemental funding. House Bill 1, as introduced includes $27.0 billion in GR funds and $65.5 billion AF for Medicaid in 2018-19, which is an increase of $0.7 billion in General Revenue-Related Funds and $1.0 billion AFs. The committee had many questions about Medicaid managed care, capitation rate setting and savings, and STAR Kids. TAHP staff immediately started meeting with offices to educate them on the value of managed care and will continue meetings over the next several weeks.  LBB Recommendations for HB 1 can be found here.