Bill

HB 1623

84(R) - 2015
House Public Health
House Public Health
Healthcare

Vote Recommendation

Yes
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Neutral

Author(s)

Jodie Laubenberg

Bill Caption

Relating to the reimbursement of providers for the provision of certain home telemonitoring services under Medicaid.

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Bill Analysis

The bill would require the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to provide home telemonitoring to pediatric patients with chronic or complex medical needs who:

  1. are being concurrently treated by at least three medical specialists; 
  2. are medically dependent on technology;
  3. are diagnosed with end-stage solid organ disease; or
  4. require medical ventilation.

The bill would also repeal the expiration date of September 1, 2015 for existing home telemonitoring services. 

Vote Recommendation Notes

Despite advances in medical science and technology, the delivery of health care continues to primarily occur in a face-to-face setting between a doctor and a patient. Recently, however, telecommunications and video interfacing have reached a point that a doctor and a patient can communicate remotely while still allowing for an accurate diagnosis, quality doctor-patient discussion, and the monitoring of complex medical needs. Proponents of this technology assert that such communication saves time and money for both the doctor and the patient, allows doctors to easily keep track of a patient's progress and condition, and provides patients and their families a cheaper alternative to expensive face-to-face visits. The proponents further assert that the technology is particularly helpful for children with complex medical conditions, as these fragile children are among the most frequent visitors to the emergency department, and many of their visits could be averted by robust monitoring of their status at home. 

Increasing access to care through technological advancement while saving taxpayers' money promotes our limited government principle. We support HB 1623. 

For an extensive and in-depth policy analysis of this bill, interested parties may wish to read the report provided by the Texas Public Policy Foundation which testified in support of this legislation. Click here to view the report by TPPF's John Davidson

Organizations Supporting

Texas Public Policy Foundation