bill for a Medicaid doula pilot

The text as introduced · 546 words

89R2650 SCF-D

By: Manuel
H.B. No. 1201

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a pilot program to provide Medicaid coverage of doula

services.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Human Resources Code,

is amended by adding Section 32.02481 to read as follows:

Sec. 32.02481. MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM FOR DOULA

SERVICES. (a) In this section:

(1) "Doula" means a nonmedical birthing coach who

provides doula services and meets the qualifications for a doula as

determined by commission rule.

(2) "Doula services" means nonmedical childbirth

education, coaching, and support services, including emotional and

physical support provided during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and

the postpartum period, or provided intermittently during pregnancy

and the postpartum period.

(b) The commission shall establish a pilot program to

provide medical assistance reimbursement for doula services

provided by a doula, other than services for which a doula may

enroll as a provider and receive reimbursement under Section

32.024(qq). The executive commissioner, in consultation with the

Perinatal Advisory Council established under Section 241.187,

Health and Safety Code, by rule shall determine the qualifications

necessary for an individual to be considered a doula and the doula

services to be covered under the pilot program.

(c) Not later than September 1, 2026, the commission shall

implement the pilot program in:

(1) the most populous county in this state; and

(2) the county with the greatest maternal health

support needs, as determined by the county's maternal and infant

mortality rates and the number of births in the county by Medicaid

recipients.

(d) The commission shall prescribe eligibility requirements

for participation in the pilot program.

(e) Not later than September 1 of each year during the

operation of the pilot program, the commission shall prepare and

publish on the commission's Internet website a report evaluating:

(1) the total costs during the preceding year of

providing medical assistance reimbursement for doula services

under the pilot program; and

(2) the impact on birth outcomes for women who receive

doula services under the pilot program.

(f) Not later than September 1, 2030, the commission shall

prepare and submit to the legislature a written report that:

(1) summarizes the results of the pilot program,

including the effectiveness of the pilot program in reducing

maternal mortality rates and racial disparities in health outcomes

in the geographic areas of this state in which the pilot program

operates;

(2) includes feedback from participating doulas and

recipients who received doula services under the pilot program; and

(3) includes a recommendation on whether the pilot

program should be continued, expanded, or terminated.

(g) The pilot program terminates and this section expires

September 1, 2031.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 32.02481(e), Human

Resources Code, as added by this Act, the Health and Human Services

Commission shall prepare and publish the first report required by

that section not later than September 1, 2027.

SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act

a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a

federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,

the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or

authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the

waiver or authorization is granted.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.