Bill Text: TX HB512 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to a Medicaid buy-in program for employees of small businesses.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-01 - Referred to Human Services [HB512 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB512-Introduced.html
| By: Beckley | H.B. No. 512 | |
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| relating to a Medicaid buy-in program for employees of small | ||
| businesses. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 531.024442 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 531.024442. MEDICAID BUY-IN PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYEES OF | ||
| SMALL BUSINESSES. (a) In this section: | ||
| (1) "Program participant" means an employee of a small | ||
| business who receives health care services under Medicaid through | ||
| the buy-in program established under this section. | ||
| (2) "Small business" means a business with an annual | ||
| gross revenue of $850,000 or less. | ||
| (b) The commission shall operate a Medicaid buy-in program | ||
| under which a person who is an employee of a small business may | ||
| receive health care services under Medicaid. The executive | ||
| commissioner shall adopt rules for the program that: | ||
| (1) establish eligibility requirements for | ||
| participation in the program, including household income limits, | ||
| that ensure receipt of federal matching money for providing health | ||
| care services under Medicaid to a program participant; | ||
| (2) require financial participation by the program | ||
| participant, including a requirement that the program participant | ||
| pay, according to a sliding scale based on household income | ||
| determined in accordance with commission rules, a portion of any | ||
| premiums imposed or cost-sharing payments required under the | ||
| program; and | ||
| (3) require financial participation by a small | ||
| business that employs a program participant, including a | ||
| requirement that the small business pay a portion of any premiums | ||
| imposed or cost-sharing payments required under the program, in | ||
| amounts determined in accordance with commission rules. | ||
| (c) The executive commissioner shall ensure that the rules | ||
| adopted under Subsection (b) regarding the financial participation | ||
| required of a small business are not cost prohibitive to | ||
| participation by a small business in the program. | ||
| (d) The program under this section must be substantively | ||
| identical to the Medicaid buy-in programs for persons with | ||
| disabilities established under Section 531.02444, except to the | ||
| extent that programmatic differences are appropriate because of the | ||
| populations served by the programs. | ||
| (e) The commission shall prepare and make available to small | ||
| businesses information concerning the availability of and | ||
| application process for the program under this section. A small | ||
| business may provide that information to its employees and | ||
| prospective employees. | ||
| SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2022, the executive | ||
| commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall | ||
| adopt the rules required by Section 531.024442, Government Code, as | ||
| added by this Act, and the commission shall implement the program | ||
| required by that section. | ||
| SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act | ||
| 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 shall request the waiver or | ||
| authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the | ||
| waiver or authorization is granted. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
