Telehealth Expansion Gets Tentative Approval in Texas

(TNS) — Both measures are part of a sweeping health care package in the lower chamber.

What would the Texas telehealth bill do?

House Bill 4 would expand virtual health care to Medicaid and other public benefits program recipients, making permanent temporary waivers used during the COVID-19 pandemic to expand telemedicine. The bill also would allow the state to reimburse providers for the programs.

State  Rep. Four Price , an Amarillo Republican and author of the bill, said the measure would provide expansive coverage to more Texans, especially vulnerable residents, and address technology gaps.

"These waivers are allowing for utilization of telemedicine and telehealth to deliver services within certain already existing programs at (the Texas Health and Human Services Commission)," Price said. "Even if we had not experienced a pandemic, we need this bill in striving for a healthier Texas."

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission would implement the telehealth measure no later than Jan. 1.

Nora Belcher , executive director of Texas e- Health Alliance, said the group pushed for the measure because it would create stability for providers and patients.

"Every 30 days providers start to call me to say, 'Well, are they going to get extended again?' It causes a lot of instability," Belcher said. "These are services that have been in place for a year now. They're working well for providers. They're working well for patients. We want to take that uncertainty away."

Lowering the cost of prescriptions

House Bill 18 would lower out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for uninsured individuals and require the Health and Human Services Commission to create a prescription drug savings program that partners with pharmacies to offer medications at a discounted rate.

Rep.  Bryan Slaton , R- Royse City, offered an amendment, which failed 79-57, which would have excluded puberty blocking drugs, medication used to temporarily delay the onset of puberty. The medication is fully reversible.

After back-and-forth with several Democrats who opposed the amendment, Rep.  Celia Israel , D- Austin, urged members to vote no.

"We just lost a few hundred Texans to a polar vortex," Israel said. "We have an energy crisis in the energy state. ... We're in the midst of a pandemic.  Dr. Oliverson  is trying to bring forth well-intention legislation that only gets steered to pander to 3% of the electorate."

Rep.  Tom Oliverson , a Cypress Republican and the bill's author, said he would be supportive of the policy that Slaton is "trying to get at here," but that it would not have any impact and could keep treatment options for prostate cancer out of the program.

The program is available only for brand-name medications with no generic equivalent.

"A majority of medications that would be used in these kind of treatments are generic and because generics are available there aren't rebates," Oliverson said. "They wouldn't be eligible for this program anyway, so it's kind of a do-nothing" amendment.

After the amendment failed, lawmakers approved the measure in a 146-0 vote. Slaton was marked as absent for the final vote on the bill.

No one testified against either bill in committee. Both measures, if approved in a third and final reading, will be sent to the Senate.

House Speaker  Dade Phelan , R- Beaumont, praised the passage of the measures. The House also approved two other bills for Medicaid recipients Wednesday.

"This transformative legislation will expand availability of health services to all Texans, create savings in prescription drug costs, protect maternal health, and cut red tape involved in providing coverage for our vulnerable children," Phelan said in a statement. "With this slate of legislation, I am confident that citizens across our state will find the care they need, when they need it. I am proud of the hard work and dedication of my House colleagues in ensuring health care in our state remains accessible and affordable for all 29 million Texans."

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