BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4666

By: Manuel

Human Services

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current law, the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is required to submit numerous reports to the legislature, many of which are due on a quarterly or annual basis. According to the HHSC's Legislative Appropriations Request for Fiscal Years 2024-2025, HHSC identified 35 required reports in the 2023-2024 biennium. The bill author has informed the committee that due to the short timeframes between report deadlines, there is often limited new data available and meaningful stakeholder engagement may not be feasible, which can result in redundant content in the reports and place a significant burden on HHSC staff, program administrators, and advisory committees. C.S.H.B. 4666 seeks to resolve the issue by reducing the frequency of submission for several reports required by HHSC in an effort to reduce administrative strain on HHSC staff and allow for more complete and meaningful data collection.

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 this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4666 amends the Government Code to revise the requirement for the data analysis unit within the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to provide quarterly updates on the unit's activities and findings to certain recipients by doing the following:

·replacing the requirement to provide quarterly updates with a requirement to provide an annual report;

·changing the deadline for submission from not later than the 30th day following the end of each calendar quarter to not later than December 1 of each year; and

·including the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) among the recipients.

The bill also requires the data analysis unit, not later than December 1 of each year, to provide a report of any anomalies identified by the unit relating to service utilization, providers, payment methodologies, and compliance with requirements in Medicaid and CHIP managed care and fee-for-service contracts to HHSC's office of the inspector general.

C.S.H.B. 4666 reduces the frequency with which the following reports prepared by HHSC must be submitted, as follows:

·the report submitted to the legislature containing a summary of HHSC's efforts relating to the following, from semiannually to each even-numbered year:

oencouraging Medicaid providers to continue implementing effective interventions and best practices associated with improvements in the health outcomes of Medicaid recipients that were developed and achieved under the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program; and

ocoordinating with hospitals and other providers that receive supplemental payments under the uncompensated care payment program operated under the Texas Health Care Transformation and Quality Improvement Program waiver issued under federal law to identify and implement initiatives based on best practices and models that are designed to reduce recipients' use of hospital emergency room services as a primary means of receiving health care benefits;

·the report submitted to the legislature relating to the implementation of the acute care services and long-term services and supports system for individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability, from annually to each even-numbered year; and

·the report submitted to the legislature and made available to the public relating to quality-based outcome and process measures and quality-based payment systems and other payment initiatives under Medicaid and CHIP, from annually to each even-numbered year.

If before implementing any provision of the bill 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 must request the waiver or authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the waiver or authorization is granted.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4666 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.

The substitute makes the following changes regarding the requirement in current law for HHSC's data analysis unit to provide quarterly updates on the unit's activities and findings, whereas the introduced did not:

·replaces the requirement to provide quarterly updates with a requirement to provide an annual report;

·changes the deadline for submission from not later than the 30th day following the end of each calendar quarter to not later than December 1 of each year; and

·includes the LBB among the recipients.

The substitute also includes a requirement absent from the introduced for the unit to provide an annual report of certain anomalies identified by the unit to HHSC's office of the inspector general.

The substitute omits the provisions from the introduced establishing that HHSC is required to implement a provision of the bill only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose and, if the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that purpose, HHSC may, but is not required to, implement a provision of the bill using other appropriations available for that purpose.