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  By: Miller, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Buckingham) H.B. No. 271
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 18, 2017;
  April 19, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
  Human Services; May 5, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0;
  May 5, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 271 By:  Buckingham
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the establishment of the Veterans Recovery Pilot
  Program to provide certain veterans with hyperbaric oxygen
  treatment.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle B, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Chapter 49 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 49. VETERANS RECOVERY PILOT PROGRAM
         Sec. 49.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Facility" includes a hospital, public health
  clinic, outpatient health clinic, community health center, and any
  other facility authorized under commission rules to provide
  hyperbaric oxygen treatment under this chapter.
               (2)  "Health care practitioner" means a person who is
  licensed to provide medical or other health care in this state and
  who has prescriptive authority, including a physician.
               (3)  "Hyperbaric oxygen treatment" means treatment for
  post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury
  prescribed by a health care practitioner and delivered in:
                     (A)  a hyperbaric chamber approved by the United
  States Food and Drug Administration; or
                     (B)  a hyperbaric oxygen device that is approved
  by the United States Food and Drug Administration for
  investigational use under the direction of an institutional review
  board with a national clinical trial number.
               (4)  "Physician" means a person licensed to practice
  medicine by the Texas Medical Board.
               (5)  "Pilot program" means the Veterans Recovery Pilot
  Program established under this chapter.
               (6)  "Traumatic brain injury" means an acquired injury
  to the brain. The term does not include brain dysfunction caused by
  congenital or degenerative disorders or birth trauma.
               (7)  "Veteran" means an individual who has served in:
                     (A)  the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or
  marine corps of the United States; or
                     (B)  an auxiliary service of one of the armed
  forces described in Paragraph (A).
         Sec. 49.002.  ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the commission, using
  existing resources, shall establish and operate the Veterans
  Recovery Pilot Program to provide diagnostic services, hyperbaric
  oxygen treatment, and support services to eligible veterans who
  have post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury.
         (b)  If there is insufficient money in the veterans recovery
  account established under Section 49.004 to cover the commission's
  expenses in administering the pilot program, the commission may not
  operate the pilot program.
         (c)  The executive commissioner may appoint an advisory
  board to assist the commission in developing the pilot program.
         Sec. 49.003.  RULES.  The executive commissioner shall adopt
  rules to implement this chapter, including standards for veteran
  and facility eligibility under the pilot program and standards to
  ensure patient confidentiality is protected under the pilot
  program.  The standards must require that:
               (1)  eligible facilities comply with applicable fire
  codes, oversight requirements, and any treatment protocols
  provided in commission rules; and
               (2)  eligible participants in the pilot program reside
  in this state.
         Sec. 49.004.  VETERANS RECOVERY ACCOUNT. (a) The veterans
  recovery account is a dedicated account in the general revenue
  fund.
         (b)  The veterans recovery account consists of:
               (1)  gifts, grants, and other donations received for
  the account; and
               (2)  interest earned on the investment of money in the
  fund.
         (c)  Section 403.0956, Government Code, does not apply to the
  veterans recovery account.
         (d)  The executive commissioner shall administer the
  veterans recovery account. Money in the account may be used only to
  pay for:
               (1)  expenses of administering the pilot program;
               (2)  diagnostic testing and treatment of a veteran with
  post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury under
  the pilot program; and
               (3)  a veteran's necessary travel and living expenses
  for a veteran required to travel to obtain treatment under the pilot
  program.
         (e)  The executive commissioner shall seek reimbursement for
  payments made under the pilot program from the TRICARE program of
  the United States Department of Defense, appropriate federal
  agencies, and any other responsible third party payor.
         Sec. 49.005.  HYPERBARIC OXYGEN TREATMENT; RESERVATION OF
  FUNDS.  (a)  The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt
  standards for the provision of hyperbaric oxygen treatment under
  the pilot program to veterans who have been diagnosed with
  post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury, have
  been prescribed hyperbaric oxygen treatment by a health care
  practitioner, and voluntarily agree to treatment under the pilot
  program.
         (b)  A facility providing medical care to a veteran who is
  eligible for hyperbaric oxygen treatment under the pilot program
  may apply for reimbursement for treatment under the pilot program.
         (c)  The facility must submit a treatment plan to the
  commission before providing treatment under the pilot program. The
  treatment plan must include:
               (1)  a prescription order for hyperbaric oxygen
  treatment issued by a health care practitioner;
               (2)  verification of facility and veteran eligibility;
               (3)  an estimate of the treatment costs and of the
  veteran's necessary travel and living expenses for a veteran
  required to travel to obtain the treatment; and
               (4)  any other information required by the commission.
         (d)  The commission shall approve or disapprove a treatment
  plan within a reasonable time as established by commission rule.
  The commission shall notify the facility whether the treatment plan
  was approved or disapproved by the commission.
         (e)  The commission may not approve the provision of
  hyperbaric oxygen treatment under the pilot program unless the
  facility is in compliance with applicable commission standards and
  rules and the veteran is eligible for treatment under the pilot
  program.
         (f)  If there is sufficient money in the veterans recovery
  account, the commission shall approve each treatment plan that
  meets the requirements of this section and the standards adopted
  under this chapter.
         (g)  The executive commissioner shall reserve in the
  veterans recovery account an amount equal to the estimated
  treatment costs and necessary travel and living expenses specified
  in the treatment plan for each veteran who is approved for treatment
  under the pilot program.
         Sec. 49.006.  PROVISION OF SERVICES; REIMBURSEMENT. (a) A
  facility may provide hyperbaric oxygen treatment under the pilot
  program to a veteran who has post-traumatic stress disorder or a
  traumatic brain injury if the commission approves a treatment plan
  under Section 49.005 for the veteran.
         (b)  A facility that elects to provide hyperbaric oxygen
  treatment to a veteran under Subsection (a) shall provide the
  treatment without charge to the veteran. A veteran receiving
  treatment under the pilot program is not liable for the cost of
  treatment or expenses incurred under the pilot program. The
  facility may submit to the commission a request for reimbursement
  from the veterans recovery account for expenses incurred for the
  treatment.
         (c)  A facility that elects to provide treatment under the
  pilot program shall submit to the commission regular reports, in
  the form prescribed by the commission, of the veteran's measured
  health improvements under the treatment plan.
         (d)  The executive commissioner shall reimburse a facility
  for expenses the facility incurred in providing the hyperbaric
  oxygen treatment from the veterans recovery account if:
               (1)  the treatment was provided according to the
  treatment plan approved by the commission;
               (2)  the expenses do not exceed the amount reserved for
  the treatment under Section 49.005; and
               (3)  the facility demonstrates in the reports described
  by Subsection (c) that the veteran is making measured health
  improvements.
         (e)  If expenses for the treatment exceed funds reserved for
  the treatment under Section 49.005, the state and the veterans
  recovery account are not liable for the amount in excess of the
  reserved funds.
         (f)  A facility may submit a modified treatment plan under
  Section 49.005 to request the reservation of funds in addition to
  funds reserved under the original treatment plan.
         (g)  From money in the veterans recovery account, the
  executive commissioner shall reimburse a veteran required to travel
  to obtain treatment under the pilot program for the travel and
  living expenses approved by the commission in the treatment plan.  
  The expenses may not exceed the amount reserved for those expenses
  under Section 49.005.
         Sec. 49.007.  TERMINATION OF RESERVATION OF FUNDS. (a) If
  the facility or veteran fails to request reimbursement for
  treatment or for travel and living expenses under the pilot program
  for at least six months following the conclusion of treatment, the
  commission shall notify the facility and the veteran receiving
  treatment under the facility's treatment plan that the funding
  reserved for the treatment and expenses will be terminated on the
  90th day after the date the commission provides notice under this
  subsection unless the facility or veteran notifies the commission
  of continued treatment and expenses under the pilot program or
  requests reimbursement for the treatment already provided or
  expenses already incurred under the pilot program.
         (b)  If a facility or veteran fails to notify the commission
  of continued treatment and expenses in the time required under
  Subsection (a), the executive commissioner shall terminate the
  reservation of funds in the veterans recovery account under the
  facility's treatment plan for that veteran.
         Sec. 49.008.  REPORT. Not later than October 1 of each
  even-numbered year, the commission shall submit to the governor,
  lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and
  appropriate standing committees of the legislature a report
  regarding the pilot program that includes an evaluation of the
  effectiveness of the pilot program and the number of veterans and
  facilities participating in the pilot program.
         Sec. 49.009.  EXPIRATION OF CHAPTER.  This chapter expires
  September 1, 2023.  Any remaining balance in the veterans recovery
  account on the expiration of this chapter is transferred to the
  general revenue fund.
         SECTION 2.  The executive commissioner of the Health and
  Human Services Commission shall adopt the rules necessary to
  implement Chapter 49, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act,
  not later than January 1, 2018.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
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