HBA-MPM H.B. 2866 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2866
By: Kuempel
Public Health
3/23/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In 1995, the Texas Legislature added a provision to the Health and Safety
Code (Section 61.037) which provided that a country with a joint
county/city hospital can receive state indigent care funds if the county
spends at least 10 percent of its general revenue tax levy to provide
mandatory health care services to residents qualifying for assistance under
Section 61.006, Health and Safety Code, which covers the Texas Department
of Health's establishment of eligibility standards for indigent health
care.  This provision affected two counties providing such health care,
Guadalupe and Medina counties. 

Despite this change, Guadalupe County is still ineligible to receive state
indigent care funds due to the fact that it allows a higher income for
eligible residents than does the state.  The county may only receive funds
for those residents meeting state poverty standards, and not those who meet
the county's poverty standards.  Currently, only money spent on health care
for state-eligible residents counts toward the 10 percent required to
receive funds from the state. 

H.B. 2866 amends the statute so that it refers to residents who qualify for
assistance under Section 61.052, Health and Safety Code (General
Eligibility Provisions), thereby allowing public hospitals to set a less
restrictive income standard for determining which residents are eligible
for indigent health care than that set by the state. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 61.037(e), Health and Safety Code, to qualify
for assistance under Section 61.052 (General Eligibility Provisions),
Health and Safety Code, rather than Section 61.006 (Standards and
Procedures), Health and Safety Code, those eligible county residents for
whom the county spends in a state fiscal year at least 10 percent of the
county general revenue levy for the year to provide mandatory health care
services. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 61.038(a), Health and Safety Code, to make
conforming changes. 

SECTION 3.  Makes change in law made by this Act applicable only to state
assistance under Chapter 61 (Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act),
Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, for mandatory health care
services that are delivered on or after January 1, 2000.  Makes state
assistance for services delivered before that date prospective. 

SECTION 4.Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.