| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Negative | Neutral | Neutral | Negative | Neutral |
Relating to solicitation of patients and other prohibited marketing practices and the establishment of the task force on patient solicitation; increasing criminal penalties.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
HB 3331 would establish a task force on patient solicitation to study and make recommendations on preventing conduct that violates treatment facilities marketing and admission practices or the solicitation of patients for health professions generally. The members of this task force would have to have expertise in the field of health care or advertising.
Information would be provided to this task force that would not be subject to public record disclosure. The task force would be required to submit a report to the legislature no later than December 1 of each even numbered year with a summary of civil or criminal actions; and legislative recommendations for preventing violations.
HB 3331 would prevent a treatment facility or their employee/contractor from contracting with a marketing provider who agrees to provide referrals or leads for the placement of patients through a call center or Internet website presence, unless the terms of their contract are disclosed to their patient.
HB 3331 would prevent a person, in connection with the marketing of mental health services from making false or misleading statements about the facility services or location; or provide a link on their website that redirects the user to another Internet website containing false or misleading statements of information.
HB 3331 would then increase the minimum civil penalty for a violation of this section from $1,000 to $2,000 per violation.
Soliciting patient offenses are would be a considered state jail felony or second degree felony depending upon the severity, history, and status of the offender.
HB 3331 would violate the principles of limited government and the free market by increasing government intervention in this area. Texas Action opposes HB 3331.