82S10004 PEP-D
 
  By: Madden H.B. No. 26
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the containment of costs incurred in the correctional
  health care system.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 499, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 499.055 to read as follows:
         Sec. 499.055.  POPULATION MANAGEMENT BASED ON INMATE HEALTH.
  The department shall adopt policies designed to manage inmate
  population based on similar health conditions suffered by inmates.
  The policies adopted under this section must maximize
  organizational efficiencies and reduce health care costs to the
  department by housing inmates with similar health conditions in the
  same unit or units that are, if possible, served by or located near
  one or more specialty health care providers most likely to be needed
  for the treatment of the health condition.
         SECTION 2.  Section 501.063, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 501.063.  INMATE FEE [COPAYMENTS] FOR [CERTAIN] HEALTH
  CARE [VISITS]. (a)(1) An inmate confined in a facility operated by
  or under contract with the department, other than a halfway house,
  who initiates a visit to a health care provider shall pay a health
  care services fee [make a copayment] to the department in the amount
  of $100 [$3].
               (2)  The fee imposed under Subdivision (1) covers all
  visits to a health care provider that the inmate initiates until the
  first anniversary of the imposition of the fee.
               (3)  The inmate shall pay [make] the fee [copayment]
  out of the inmate's trust fund. If the balance in the fund is
  insufficient to cover the fee [copayment], 50 percent of each
  deposit to the fund shall be applied toward the balance owed until
  the total amount owed is paid.
         (b)  [The department may not charge a copayment for health
  care:
               [(1)     provided in response to a life-threatening or
  emergency situation affecting the inmate's health;
               [(2)  initiated by the department;
               [(3)     initiated by the health care provider or
  consisting of routine follow-up, prenatal, or chronic care; or
               [(4)     provided under a contractual obligation that is
  established under the Interstate Corrections Compact or under an
  agreement with another state that precludes assessing a copayment.
         [(c)]  The department shall adopt policies to ensure that
  before any deductions are made from an inmate's trust fund under
  this section [an inmate initiates a visit to a health care
  provider], the inmate is informed that the health care services fee
  [a $3 copayment] will be deducted from the inmate's trust fund as
  required by Subsection (a).
         (c) [(d)]  The department may not deny an inmate access to
  health care as a result of the inmate's failure or inability to pay
  a fee under this section [make a copayment].
         (d) [(e)]  The department shall deposit money received under
  this section in an account in the general revenue fund that may be
  used only to pay the cost of correctional health care
  [administering this section]. At the beginning of each fiscal
  year, the comptroller shall transfer any surplus from the preceding
  fiscal year to the state treasury to the credit of the general
  revenue fund.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 501, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 501.067 to read as follows:
         Sec. 501.067.  AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN MEDICATION. (a) In
  this section, "over-the-counter medication" means medication that
  may legally be sold and purchased without a prescription.
         (b)  The department shall make over-the-counter medication
  available for purchase by inmates in each inmate commissary
  operated by or under contract with the department.
         (c)  The department may not deny an inmate access to
  over-the-counter medications as a result of the inmate's inability
  to pay for the medication. The department shall pay for the cost of
  over-the-counter medication for inmates who are unable to pay for
  the medication out of the profits of inmate commissaries operated
  by or under contract with the department.
         (d)  The department may adopt policies concerning the sale
  and purchase of over-the-counter medication under this section as
  necessary to ensure the safety and security of inmates in the
  custody of, and employees of, the department, including policies
  concerning the quantities and types of over-the-counter medication
  that may be sold and purchased under this section.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter E, Chapter 501, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 501.1485 to read as follows:
         Sec. 501.1485.  CORRECTIONS MEDICATION AIDES. (a) The
  department, in cooperation with The University of Texas Medical
  Branch at Galveston and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences
  Center, shall develop and implement a training program for
  corrections medication aides that uses a curriculum specific to
  administering medication in a correctional setting.
         (b)  In developing the curriculum for the training program,
  the department, The University of Texas Medical Branch at
  Galveston, and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
  shall:
               (1)  consider the content of the curriculum developed
  by the American Correctional Association for certified corrections
  nurses; and
               (2)  modify as appropriate the content of the
  curriculum developed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, for
  medication aides administering medication in convalescent and
  nursing homes and related institutions to produce content suitable
  for administering medication in a correctional setting.
         (c)  The department shall submit an application for the
  approval of a training program developed under this section,
  including the curriculum, to the Department of Aging and Disability
  Services in the manner established by the executive commissioner of
  the Health and Human Services Commission under Section 161.083,
  Human Resources Code.
         SECTION 5.  Section 251.012, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 251.012.  EXEMPTIONS FROM LICENSING REQUIREMENT. The
  following facilities are not required to be licensed under this
  chapter:
               (1)  a home and community support services agency
  licensed under Chapter 142 with a home dialysis designation;
               (2)  a hospital licensed under Chapter 241 that
  provides dialysis only to individuals receiving:
                     (A)  [individuals receiving] inpatient services
  from the hospital; or
                     (B)  [individuals receiving] outpatient services
  due to a disaster declared by the governor or a federal disaster
  declared by the president of the United States occurring in this
  state or another state during the term of the disaster declaration;
  [or]
               (3)  a hospital operated by or on behalf of the state as
  part of the managed health care provider network established under
  Chapter 501, Government Code, that provides dialysis only to
  individuals receiving:
                     (A)  inpatient services from the hospital; or
                     (B)  outpatient services while serving a term of
  confinement in a facility operated by or under contract with the
  Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
               (4)  an end stage renal disease facility operated by or
  on behalf of the state as part of the managed health care provider
  network established under Chapter 501, Government Code, that
  provides dialysis only to individuals receiving those services
  while serving a term of confinement in a facility operated by or
  under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; or
               (5)  the office of a physician unless the office is used
  primarily as an end stage renal disease facility.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter D, Chapter 161, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Section 161.083 to read as follows:
         Sec. 161.083.  CORRECTIONS MEDICATION AIDES. (a) The
  executive commissioner shall establish:
               (1)  minimum standards and procedures for the approval
  of corrections medication aide training programs, including
  curricula, developed under Section 501.1485, Government Code;
               (2)  minimum requirements for the issuance, denial,
  renewal, suspension, and revocation of a permit to a corrections
  medication aide, including the payment of an application or renewal
  fee in an amount necessary to cover the costs incurred by the
  department in administering this section; and
               (3)  the acts and practices that are within and outside
  the scope of a permit issued under this section.
         (b)  Not later than the 90th day after receipt of an
  application for approval of a corrections medication aide training
  program developed under Section 501.1485, Government Code, the
  department shall:
               (1)  approve the program, if the program meets the
  minimum standards and procedures established under Subsection
  (a)(1); or
               (2)  provide notice to the Texas Department of Criminal
  Justice that the program is not approved and include in the notice a
  description of the actions that are required for the program to be
  approved.
         (c)  The department shall issue a permit to or renew the
  permit of an applicant who meets the minimum requirements
  established under Subsection (a)(2). The department shall
  coordinate with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the
  performance of the department's duties and functions under this
  subsection.
         SECTION 7.  (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, in
  cooperation with The University of Texas Medical Branch at
  Galveston, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, or a
  successor correctional managed health care provider, shall develop
  the training program required by Section 501.1485, Government Code,
  as added by this Act, and the department shall submit an application
  for approval of that program, as required by Subsection (c) of that
  section, not later than January 1, 2012. If after the effective
  date of this Act and before the date the department develops the
  training program described by this subsection The University of
  Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the Texas Tech University
  Health Sciences Center are no longer represented on the
  Correctional Managed Health Care Committee, or no longer serve as
  correctional managed health care providers, the executive director
  of the department shall request and receive the cooperation of any
  other state agency determined by the executive director to be an
  appropriate resource in the development of the program.
         (b)  The change in law made by this Act in amending Section
  251.012, Health and Safety Code, applies only to dialysis services
  provided on or after the effective date of this Act. Dialysis
  services provided before the effective date of this Act are covered
  by the law in effect immediately before that date, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (c)  The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
  Services Commission shall establish the minimum standards and
  requirements and the acts and practices allowed or prohibited, as
  required by Section 161.083, Human Resources Code, as added by this
  Act, not later than January 1, 2012.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
  last day of the legislative session.