It’s been more than a week since Harvey ravaged the Texas Coast and left Houston — the nation’s fourth-largest city — grappling with unprecedented flooding. Do you need help? Or do you want to help those in need? Check out the resources below.

Texans enrolled in Medicare that had medical supplies that were lost or damaged due to Hurricane Harvey will have access to an altered set of rules for a short time.

The Texas Association of Health Plans (TAHP), the statewide trade association representing commercial and public health plans operating in Texas, today shared a growing list of its members’ efforts to assist Texans who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. TAHP members serve more than 17 million people in Texas, and more than 50,000 of their employees call Texas home. Health plans and related entities in Texas are responding to the storm, both in the form of donations to relief efforts and also in offering 24-hour hotlines, free consultations with telemedicine physicians, assistance with emergency prescription refills and medical equipment, and more. 

The Texas Department of Insurance is urging health insurers in Texas to loosen restrictions and show flexibility for people who have already sought or may need medical or mental health treatment in coming weeks.

The 85th Legislative Session has come to a close, and the Texas Association of Health Plans is pleased to report on a number of important achievements made possible through comprehensive communications, education, and advocacy strategy carried out in coordination and collaboration with each of our members.

The Texas Association of Health Plans (TAHP), the statewide trade association representing commercial and public health plans operating in Texas, today applauded Senate passage of Rep. Tom Oliverson’s HB 3276, which requires independent freestanding emergency rooms in Texas, which are almost all out-of-network for insured Texans, to be more transparent and upfront with patients about their network status. HB 3276 now heads to the Governor for his signature.

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.