Bill Text: TX SB2257 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the authority of certain entities to create and operate health care provider participation programs in counties not served by a hospital district or a public hospital.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-21 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB2257 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB2257-Introduced.html
86R5582 JCG-D | ||
By: Kolkhorst | S.B. No. 2257 |
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relating to the authority of certain entities to create and operate | ||
health care provider participation programs in counties not served | ||
by a hospital district or a public hospital. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended by adding Chapter 299 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 299. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM IN | ||
MULTI-COUNTY DISTRICT | ||
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS | ||
Sec. 299.0001. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to | ||
authorize certain counties not served by a hospital district or a | ||
public hospital to create a district to administer a health care | ||
provider participation program to provide additional compensation | ||
to hospitals in the district by collecting mandatory payments from | ||
each hospital in the district to be used to provide the nonfederal | ||
share of a Medicaid supplemental payment program and for other | ||
purposes as authorized under this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299.0002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "Board" means the board of directors of a | ||
district. | ||
(2) "Director" means a member of the board. | ||
(3) "District" means a health care provider | ||
participation district created under this chapter. | ||
(4) "Institutional health care provider" means a | ||
nonpublic hospital that provides inpatient hospital services. | ||
(5) "Paying hospital" means an institutional health | ||
care provider required to make a mandatory payment under this | ||
chapter. | ||
(6) "Program" means a health care provider | ||
participation program authorized by this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299.0003. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to | ||
a county that: | ||
(1) is not participating in a health care provider | ||
participation program authorized under this subtitle; | ||
(2) is not served by a hospital district or public | ||
hospital; and | ||
(3) has only one hospital that is located in the | ||
county. | ||
SUBCHAPTER B. CREATION, OPERATION, AND DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT | ||
Sec. 299.0021. CREATION BY CONCURRENT ORDERS. (a) Except | ||
as provided by Subsection (b), a county and one or more other | ||
counties may create a district by adopting concurrent orders. | ||
(b) A county or portion of a county that is in the boundaries | ||
of a hospital district may not be a party to the creation of a | ||
district. | ||
(c) A concurrent order to create a district must: | ||
(1) be approved by the governing body of each creating | ||
county; | ||
(2) contain identical provisions; and | ||
(3) define the boundaries of the district to be | ||
coextensive with the combined boundaries of each creating county. | ||
Sec. 299.0022. POWERS. A district may authorize and | ||
administer a health care provider participation program in | ||
accordance with this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299.0023. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) If three or more | ||
counties create a district, the county judge of each county that | ||
creates the district shall appoint one director. | ||
(b) If two counties create a district: | ||
(1) the county judge of the most populous county shall | ||
appoint two directors; and | ||
(2) the county judge of the other county shall appoint | ||
one director. | ||
(c) Directors serve staggered two-year terms, with as near | ||
as possible to one-half of the directors' terms expiring each year. | ||
(d) A vacancy in the office of director shall be filled for | ||
the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. | ||
(e) The board shall elect from among its members a | ||
president. The president may vote and may cast an additional vote | ||
to break a tie. | ||
(f) The board shall also elect from among its members a vice | ||
president. | ||
(g) The board shall appoint a secretary, who need not be a | ||
director. | ||
(h) Each officer of the board serves for a term of one year. | ||
(i) The board shall fill a vacancy in a board office for the | ||
unexpired term. | ||
(j) A majority of the members of the board voting must | ||
concur in a matter relating to the business of the district. | ||
Sec. 299.0024. QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE. (a) To be | ||
eligible to serve as a director, a person must be a resident of the | ||
county that appoints the person under Section 299.0023. | ||
(b) An employee of the district may not serve as a director. | ||
Sec. 299.0025. COMPENSATION. (a) Directors and officers | ||
serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual | ||
expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. | ||
(b) Expenses reimbursed under this section must be: | ||
(1) reported in the district's minute book or other | ||
district records; and | ||
(2) approved by the board. | ||
Sec. 299.0026. AUTHORITY TO SUE AND BE SUED. The board may | ||
sue and be sued on behalf of the district. | ||
Sec. 299.0027. DISTRICT FINANCES. Subchapter F, Chapter | ||
287, other than Sections 287.129 and 287.130, applies to the | ||
district in the same manner that those provisions apply to a health | ||
services district created under Chapter 287. This section does not | ||
authorize the district to issue bonds. | ||
Sec. 299.0028. DISSOLUTION. A district shall be dissolved | ||
if the counties that created the district adopt concurrent orders | ||
to dissolve the district and the concurrent orders contain | ||
identical provisions. | ||
Sec. 299.0029. ADMINISTRATION OF PROPERTY, DEBTS, AND | ||
ASSETS AFTER DISSOLUTION. (a) After dissolution of a district | ||
under Section 299.0028, the board shall continue to control and | ||
administer any property, debts, and assets of the district until | ||
all funds have been disposed of and all district debts have been | ||
paid or settled. | ||
(b) As soon as practicable after the dissolution of the | ||
district, the board shall transfer to each institutional health | ||
care provider in the district the provider's proportionate share of | ||
any remaining funds in any local provider participation fund | ||
created by the district under Section 299.0102. | ||
(c) If, after administering any property and assets, the | ||
board determines that the district's property and assets are | ||
insufficient to pay the debts of the district, the district shall | ||
transfer the remaining debts to the counties that created the | ||
district in proportion to the funds contributed to the district by | ||
each county, including a paying hospital in the county. | ||
(d) If, after complying with Subsections (b) and (c) and | ||
administering the property and assets, the board determines that | ||
unused funds remain, the board shall transfer the unused funds to | ||
the counties that created the district in proportion to the funds | ||
contributed to the district by each county, including a paying | ||
hospital in the county. | ||
Sec. 299.0030. ACCOUNTING AFTER DISSOLUTION. After the | ||
district has paid all its debts and has disposed of all its assets | ||
and funds as prescribed by Section 299.0029, the board shall | ||
provide an accounting to each county that created the district. The | ||
accounting must show the manner in which the assets and debts of the | ||
district were distributed. | ||
SUBCHAPTER C. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM; POWERS | ||
AND DUTIES OF DISTRICT BOARD | ||
Sec. 299.0051. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM. | ||
The board may authorize the district to participate in a health care | ||
provider participation program on the affirmative vote of a | ||
majority of the board, subject to the provisions of this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299.0052. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE MANDATORY | ||
PAYMENT. The board may require a mandatory payment authorized | ||
under this chapter by an institutional health care provider in the | ||
district only in the manner provided by this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299.0053. RULES AND PROCEDURES. The board may adopt | ||
rules relating to the administration of the health care provider | ||
participation program in the district, including collection of the | ||
mandatory payments, expenditures, audits, and any other | ||
administrative aspects of the program. | ||
Sec. 299.0054. INSTITUTIONAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER | ||
REPORTING. If the board authorizes the district to participate in a | ||
health care provider participation program under this chapter, the | ||
board shall require each institutional health care provider located | ||
in the district to submit to the district a copy of any financial | ||
and utilization data required by and reported to the Department of | ||
State Health Services under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 and any | ||
rules adopted by the executive commissioner of the Health and Human | ||
Services Commission to implement those sections. | ||
SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS | ||
Sec. 299.0101. HEARING. (a) In each year that the board | ||
authorizes a health care provider participation program under this | ||
chapter, the board shall hold a public hearing on the amounts of any | ||
mandatory payments that the board intends to require during the | ||
year and how the revenue derived from those payments is to be spent. | ||
(b) Not later than the fifth day before the date of the | ||
hearing required under Subsection (a), the board shall publish | ||
notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in each | ||
county that creates the district and provide written notice of the | ||
hearing to the chief operating officer of each institutional health | ||
care provider in the district. | ||
Sec. 299.0102. LOCAL PROVIDER PARTICIPATION FUND; | ||
DEPOSITORY. (a) If the board collects a mandatory payment | ||
authorized under this chapter, the board shall create a local | ||
provider participation fund in one or more banks designated by the | ||
district as a depository for the mandatory payments received by the | ||
district. | ||
(b) The board may withdraw or use money in the local | ||
provider participation fund of the district only for a purpose | ||
authorized under this chapter. | ||
(c) All funds collected under this chapter shall be secured | ||
in the manner provided for securing county funds. | ||
Sec. 299.0103. DEPOSITS TO FUND; AUTHORIZED USES OF MONEY. | ||
(a) The local provider participation fund established under | ||
Section 299.0102 consists of: | ||
(1) all revenue received by the district attributable | ||
to mandatory payments authorized under this chapter, including any | ||
penalties and interest attributable to delinquent payments; | ||
(2) money received from the Health and Human Services | ||
Commission as a refund of an intergovernmental transfer from the | ||
district to the state for the purpose of providing the nonfederal | ||
share of Medicaid supplemental payment program payments, provided | ||
that the intergovernmental transfer does not receive a federal | ||
matching payment; and | ||
(3) the earnings of the fund. | ||
(b) Money deposited to the local provider participation | ||
fund may be used only to: | ||
(1) fund intergovernmental transfers from the | ||
district to the state to provide: | ||
(A) the nonfederal share of a Medicaid | ||
supplemental payment program authorized under the state Medicaid | ||
plan, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement | ||
Program waiver issued under Section 1115 of the federal Social | ||
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1315), or a successor waiver | ||
program authorizing similar Medicaid supplemental payment | ||
programs; or | ||
(B) payments to Medicaid managed care | ||
organizations that are dedicated for payment to hospitals; | ||
(2) subsidize indigent programs in the district; | ||
(3) pay the administrative expenses of the district | ||
solely for activities under this chapter; | ||
(4) refund a portion of a mandatory payment collected | ||
in error from a paying hospital; and | ||
(5) refund to paying hospitals the proportionate share | ||
of money received by the district that is not used to fund the | ||
nonfederal share of Medicaid supplemental payment program | ||
payments. | ||
(c) Money in the local provider participation fund may not | ||
be commingled with other district funds or other funds of a county | ||
that creates the district. | ||
(d) An intergovernmental transfer of funds described by | ||
Subsection (b)(1) and any funds received by the district as a result | ||
of an intergovernmental transfer described by that subsection may | ||
not be used by the district, a county that created the district, or | ||
any other entity to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Patient | ||
Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended | ||
by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. | ||
No. 111-152). | ||
Sec. 299.0104. ACCOUNTING OF FUNDS. The district shall | ||
maintain an accounting of the funds received from each county that | ||
creates the district, including a paying hospital in the county. | ||
SUBCHAPTER E. MANDATORY PAYMENTS | ||
Sec. 299.0151. MANDATORY PAYMENTS BASED ON PAYING HOSPITAL | ||
NET PATIENT REVENUE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), if | ||
the board authorizes a health care provider participation program | ||
under this chapter, the district may require an annual mandatory | ||
payment to be assessed on the net patient revenue of each | ||
institutional health care provider located in the district. The | ||
board may provide for the mandatory payment to be assessed | ||
quarterly. In the first year in which the mandatory payment is | ||
required, the mandatory payment is assessed on the net patient | ||
revenue of an institutional health care provider located in the | ||
district as determined by the data reported to the Department of | ||
State Health Services under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 in the | ||
fiscal year ending in 2017 or, if the institutional health care | ||
provider did not report any data under those sections in that fiscal | ||
year, as determined by the institutional health care provider's | ||
Medicare cost report submitted for the 2017 fiscal year or for the | ||
closest subsequent fiscal year for which the provider submitted the | ||
Medicare cost report. The district shall update the amount of the | ||
mandatory payment on an annual basis. | ||
(b) The amount of a mandatory payment authorized under this | ||
chapter must be uniformly proportionate with the amount of net | ||
patient revenue generated by each paying hospital in the district. | ||
A mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may not hold | ||
harmless any institutional health care provider, as required under | ||
42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w). | ||
(c) The board shall set the amount of a mandatory payment | ||
authorized under this chapter. The amount of the mandatory payment | ||
required of each paying hospital may not exceed six percent of the | ||
paying hospital's net patient revenue. | ||
(d) Subject to the maximum amount prescribed by Subsection | ||
(c), the board shall set a mandatory payment authorized under this | ||
chapter in amounts that in the aggregate will generate sufficient | ||
revenue to cover the administrative expenses of the district for | ||
activities under this chapter, to fund an intergovernmental | ||
transfer described by Section 299.0103(b)(1), and to pay for | ||
indigent programs in the district, except that the amount of | ||
revenue from mandatory payments used for administrative expenses of | ||
the district for activities under this chapter in a year may not | ||
exceed four percent of the total revenue generated from the | ||
mandatory payment. | ||
(e) A paying hospital may not add a mandatory payment | ||
required under this section as a surcharge to a patient. | ||
Sec. 299.0152. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF MANDATORY | ||
PAYMENTS. The district may collect or contract for the assessment | ||
and collection of mandatory payments authorized under this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299.0153. INTEREST, PENALTIES, AND DISCOUNTS. | ||
Interest, penalties, and discounts on mandatory payments required | ||
under this chapter are governed by the law applicable to county ad | ||
valorem taxes. | ||
Sec. 299.0154. CORRECTION OF INVALID PROVISION OR | ||
PROCEDURE. To the extent any provision or procedure under this | ||
chapter causes a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter to | ||
be ineligible for federal matching funds, the board may provide by | ||
rule for an alternative provision or procedure that conforms to the | ||
requirements of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid | ||
Services. | ||
SECTION 2. Subtitle D, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended by adding Chapter 299A to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 299A. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM IN | ||
COUNTY NOT SERVED BY HOSPITAL DISTRICT OR PUBLIC HOSPITAL | ||
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS | ||
Sec. 299A.0001. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to | ||
authorize a county not served by a hospital district or a public | ||
hospital to administer a county health care provider participation | ||
program to provide additional compensation to hospitals in the | ||
county by collecting mandatory payments from each hospital in the | ||
county to be used to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid | ||
supplemental payment program and for other purposes as authorized | ||
under this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299A.0002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "Institutional health care provider" means a | ||
nonpublic hospital that provides inpatient hospital services. | ||
(2) "Paying hospital" means an institutional health | ||
care provider required to make a mandatory payment under this | ||
chapter. | ||
(3) "Program" means a county health care provider | ||
participation program authorized by this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299A.0003. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only | ||
to a county that is not served by a hospital district or a public | ||
hospital. | ||
Sec. 299A.0004. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION | ||
PROGRAM; COUNTY ORDER REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION. The | ||
commissioners court of a county may adopt an order authorizing the | ||
county to participate in a health care provider participation | ||
program, subject to the limitations provided by this chapter. | ||
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS COURT | ||
Sec. 299A.0051. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE | ||
MANDATORY PAYMENT. The commissioners court of a county may require | ||
a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter by an | ||
institutional health care provider in the county only in the manner | ||
provided by this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299A.0052. RULES AND PROCEDURES. The commissioners | ||
court of a county may adopt rules relating to the administration of | ||
the health care provider participation program in the county, | ||
including collection of the mandatory payments, expenditures, | ||
audits, and any other administrative aspects of the program. | ||
Sec. 299A.0053. INSTITUTIONAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER | ||
REPORTING. If the commissioners court of a county authorizes the | ||
county to participate in a health care provider participation | ||
program under this chapter, the commissioners court shall require | ||
each institutional health care provider to submit to the county a | ||
copy of any financial and utilization data required by and reported | ||
to the Department of State Health Services under Sections 311.032 | ||
and 311.033 and any rules adopted by the executive commissioner of | ||
the Health and Human Services Commission to implement those | ||
sections. | ||
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS | ||
Sec. 299A.0101. HEARING. (a) In each year that the | ||
commissioners court of a county authorizes a health care provider | ||
participation program under this chapter, the commissioners court | ||
shall hold a public hearing on the amounts of any mandatory payments | ||
that the commissioners court intends to require during the year and | ||
how the revenue derived from those payments is to be spent. | ||
(b) Not later than the fifth day before the date of the | ||
hearing required under Subsection (a), the commissioners court | ||
shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general | ||
circulation in the county and provide written notice of the hearing | ||
to the chief operating officer of each institutional health care | ||
provider in the county. | ||
Sec. 299A.0102. LOCAL PROVIDER PARTICIPATION FUND; | ||
DEPOSITORY. (a) Each commissioners court of a county that collects | ||
a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall create a | ||
local provider participation fund in one or more banks designated | ||
by the county as a depository for the mandatory payments received by | ||
the county. | ||
(b) The commissioners court of a county may withdraw or use | ||
money in the local provider participation fund of the county only | ||
for a purpose authorized under this chapter. | ||
(c) All funds collected under this chapter shall be secured | ||
in the manner provided for securing other county funds. | ||
Sec. 299A.0103. DEPOSITS TO FUND; AUTHORIZED USES OF MONEY. | ||
(a) The local provider participation fund established by a county | ||
under Section 299A.0102 consists of: | ||
(1) all revenue received by the county attributable to | ||
mandatory payments authorized under this chapter, including any | ||
penalties and interest attributable to delinquent payments; | ||
(2) money received from the Health and Human Services | ||
Commission as a refund of an intergovernmental transfer from the | ||
county to the state for the purpose of providing the nonfederal | ||
share of Medicaid supplemental payment program payments, provided | ||
that the intergovernmental transfer does not receive a federal | ||
matching payment; and | ||
(3) the earnings of the fund. | ||
(b) Money deposited to the local provider participation | ||
fund of a county may be used only to: | ||
(1) fund intergovernmental transfers from the county | ||
to the state to provide: | ||
(A) the nonfederal share of a Medicaid | ||
supplemental payment program authorized under the state Medicaid | ||
plan, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement | ||
Program waiver issued under Section 1115 of the federal Social | ||
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1315), or a successor waiver | ||
program authorizing similar Medicaid supplemental payment | ||
programs; or | ||
(B) payments to Medicaid managed care | ||
organizations that are dedicated for payment to hospitals; | ||
(2) subsidize indigent programs in the county; | ||
(3) pay the administrative expenses of the county | ||
solely for activities under this chapter; | ||
(4) refund a portion of a mandatory payment collected | ||
in error from a paying hospital; and | ||
(5) refund to paying hospitals the proportionate share | ||
of money received by the county that is not used to fund the | ||
nonfederal share of Medicaid supplemental payment program | ||
payments. | ||
(c) Money in the local provider participation fund of a | ||
county may not be commingled with other county funds. | ||
(d) An intergovernmental transfer of funds described by | ||
Subsection (b)(1) and any funds received by the county as a result | ||
of an intergovernmental transfer described by that subsection may | ||
not be used by the county or any other entity to expand Medicaid | ||
eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | ||
(Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education | ||
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152). | ||
SUBCHAPTER D. MANDATORY PAYMENTS | ||
Sec. 299A.0151. MANDATORY PAYMENTS BASED ON PAYING HOSPITAL | ||
NET PATIENT REVENUE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), if | ||
the commissioners court of a county authorizes a health care | ||
provider participation program under this chapter, the | ||
commissioners court may require an annual mandatory payment to be | ||
assessed on the net patient revenue of each institutional health | ||
care provider located in the county. The commissioners court may | ||
provide for the mandatory payment to be assessed quarterly. In the | ||
first year in which the mandatory payment is required, the | ||
mandatory payment is assessed on the net patient revenue of an | ||
institutional health care provider located in the county as | ||
determined by the data reported to the Department of State Health | ||
Services under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 in the fiscal year | ||
ending in 2017 or, if the institutional health care provider did not | ||
report any data under those sections in that fiscal year, as | ||
determined by the institutional health care provider's Medicare | ||
cost report submitted for the 2017 fiscal year or for the closest | ||
subsequent fiscal year for which the provider submitted the | ||
Medicare cost report. The county shall update the amount of the | ||
mandatory payment on an annual basis. | ||
(b) The amount of a mandatory payment authorized under this | ||
chapter must be uniformly proportionate with the amount of net | ||
patient revenue generated by each paying hospital in the county. A | ||
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may not hold | ||
harmless any institutional health care provider, as required under | ||
42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w). | ||
(c) The commissioners court of a county that collects a | ||
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall set the | ||
amount of the mandatory payment. The amount of the mandatory | ||
payment required of each paying hospital in the county may not | ||
exceed six percent of the paying hospital's net patient revenue. | ||
(d) Subject to the maximum amount prescribed by Subsection | ||
(c), the commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory | ||
payment authorized under this chapter shall set the mandatory | ||
payments in amounts that in the aggregate will generate sufficient | ||
revenue to cover the administrative expenses of the county for | ||
activities under this chapter, to fund an intergovernmental | ||
transfer described by Section 299A.103(b)(1), and to pay for | ||
indigent programs in the county, except that the amount of revenue | ||
from mandatory payments used for administrative expenses of the | ||
county for activities under this chapter in a year may not exceed | ||
the lesser of four percent of the total revenue generated from the | ||
mandatory payment or $20,000. | ||
(e) A paying hospital may not add a mandatory payment | ||
required under this section as a surcharge to a patient. | ||
Sec. 299A.0152. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF MANDATORY | ||
PAYMENTS. A county may collect or contract for the assessment and | ||
collection of mandatory payments authorized under this chapter. | ||
Sec. 299A.0153. INTEREST, PENALTIES, AND DISCOUNTS. | ||
Interest, penalties, and discounts on mandatory payments required | ||
under this chapter are governed by the law applicable to county ad | ||
valorem taxes. | ||
Sec. 299A.0154. CORRECTION OF INVALID PROVISION OR | ||
PROCEDURE. To the extent any provision or procedure under this | ||
chapter causes a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter to | ||
be ineligible for federal matching funds, the county may provide by | ||
rule for an alternative provision or procedure that conforms to the | ||
requirements of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid | ||
Services. | ||
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 immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |