February 5, 2021 - 9:30am

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Agenda

Hearing. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) will conduct a public hearing on February 5, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. CST, to receive public comments on proposed rules for the Rural Access to Primary and Preventive Services Program. The proposed rules are available here.

Due to the declared state of disaster stemming from COVID-19, this hearing will be conducted online only.

Persons interested in attending may register for the public hearing here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

HHSC will broadcast the public hearing. The broadcast will be archived for access on demand here.

Proposal. HHSC proposes new §353.1315, concerning Rural Access to Primary and Preventive Services Program; and new §353.1317, concerning Quality Metrics for Rural Access to Primary and Preventive Services Program. The proposed rules are available here. The proposed rules will be published in the January 29, 2021 issue of the Texas Register for public comment.

Background and Purpose. The purpose of the proposed new rules is to describe the circumstances under which HHSC will direct a Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) to provide a uniform dollar amount in the form of prospective monthly payments and rate increases for certain services tied to quality measurement to rural health clinics in the MCO's network in a participating service delivery area for the provision of general medical services. The proposed rules also describe the methodology used by HHSC to determine the amounts of the payments and rate increases.

Written Comments. Written comments on the proposal may be submitted to Rules Coordination Office, P.O. Box 13247, Mail Code 4102, Austin, Texas 78711-3247, or street address 4900 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78751; or emailed to Kimberly Tucker, Senior Analyst, Medicaid and CHIP Services, Healthcare Transformation Waiver Unit, at TXHealthcareTransformation@hhsc.state.tx.us. 

To be considered, comments must be: (1) postmarked or shipped before February 13, 2021; (2) hand-delivered before 5:00 p.m. on February 12, 2021; or (3) emailed before midnight on February 13, 2021. When emailing comments, please indicate "Comments on Proposed Rule 21R040” in the subject line.

Preferred Communication. During the current state of disaster due to COVID-19, physical forms of communication are checked with less frequency than during normal business operations. Therefore, please submit comments by email if possible.

Persons with disabilities who wish to attend the hearing and require auxiliary aids or services should contact TXHealthcareTransformation@hhsc.state.tx.us at least 72 hours prior to the hearing so appropriate arrangements can be made.