Telemedicine and telehealth legislative update: HHSC is tracking and monitoring the following bills.
- HB 870/SB 670 would make changes to Medicaid telemedicine and telehealth benefits.
- HB 871 is a DSHS bill and would allow use of telemedicine in trauma level of care situations.
- HB 1738 deals with telemonitoring and telehealth reimbursement under Medicaid and repeals the Sunset provision now in statute.
- HB 1756/SB792 defines teledentistry as a required Medicaid and CHIP benefit.
- HB 1782 charges HHSC in partnership with associations to develop a telemedicine and telehealth action plan with short- and long-term recommendations.
- SB 749 prevents telemedicine and telehealth from being excluded from use in rural hospitals with neonatal level designations 1-3. This is a DSHS bill.
- SB 1265 makes changes to the Texas Insurance Code for telemedicine and telehealth.
- HB 1063 adds conditions for Medicaid reimbursement for telemonitoring and repeals the related Sunset provision.
- HB 2062 adds conditions for Medicaid reimbursement for telemonitoring, repeals the related Sunset provision and transmission and would require reimbursement if data transmission is unsuccessful if certain requirements are met.
- There are many bills filed for remote patient monitoring and conversations are occurring regarding alignment on these.
- SB 10 is the Texas Mental Health Consortium bill which provides access to mental health services. This is an emergency item and moving quickly.
- HB 10 (not a companion to SB 10) is similar to SB 10 and addresses behavioral health services and access to these services in schools. The bill also defines telepsychiatry.
- SB 71 would create a statewide telehealth center for sexual assault. Texas does not have enough forensic nurses to treat victims.
- HB 1706 is a telepharmacy bill that increases access to pharmacy for urban patients. There is another pharmacy bill that addresses distance requirements.
- There are also a number of technology bills addressing broadband, aging IT infrastructure and cybersecurity bills that will affect telehealth, telemedicine and telemonitoring.
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