The Cheat Sheet Part II

Dear policy watchers,

The second half of the cheat sheet is ready! Enjoy! <3 TK

:: The Cheat Sheet Part II::

S.B. No. 575 – Women’s Health Program

Primary Author: Leticia Van de Putte is a member of the Democratic Party. She holds a seat in the Texas Senate for District 26, which includes large portions of San Antonio and Bexar County. Senator Van de Putte has been a pharmacist for more than 31 years.

Summary: This bill seeks to expand the Women’s Health Program demonstration project. It extends the Women’s Health Program to include preventative health and family planning services.

Eligible participants will receive services including:
• Medical history recording and evaluation
• Physical examinations
• Health screenings, including screenings for diabetes, cervical cancer, breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, hypertension, cholesterol, and tuberculosis
• Counseling and education on contraceptive methods
• Provision of contraceptives
• Risk assessment
• Referral of medical problems to appropriate providers

Eligible participants include:
• An individual who has a net family income that is at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, and who is at least 18 years old or who is younger than 18 and has given birth while receiving benefits under the medical assistance program
• A woman who is at least 18 years old and participates in or receives benefits from the medical assistance program, financial assistance under chapter 31, the nutrition assistance under chapter 33, SNAP or WIC, or another state administered program that requires documentation of income and restricts eligibility based on income
• A woman who is at least 18 years old and is presumed eligible for one of the programs listed above pending completion of the program’s eligibility process
• A woman who is at least 18 years old and is a member of a family that contains at least one person who participates in one of the above programs
• A woman who is not pregnant, but who if she were to have a child, would have a net family income below 185% of the FPL

The department would identify women eligible for the program during a demonstration project for women, following pregnancy, who participated in a medical assistance program. The department would work to help women maintain continuous coverage, and will help her identify other services that she would be eligible for.
The department will submit a report on December 1st of each year to the legislature for review.

This bill would extend the program through September 2014 (the original program expires September 2011).
A new addition to the original program would be a preventative health outreach program. This would include providing an initial screening to determine eligibility, ensuring that women receiving other services would receive information about the program, and working with hospitals and other entities to provide information on the services. The program would include monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, and will use that information to report to the legislature on things such as the cost of the program and problems encountered in the process.

This act would take effect August 31, 2011.

Potential Implications: Much of this bill is already in place, and the bill is requesting for a 3 year extension of the program, while also adding the outreach program. The bill has many strengths, including the provision of family planning and preventative care to women who are at or below 185% of the FPL, or who would be if they had a child. The outreach program seeks to expand who will learn about the services by targeting people already receiving services that would qualify them for the program. That being said, there are some concerns about leaving other parts of the bill as it is. Most prominently, the bill provides counseling and education and the provision of contraceptives, but it will not education about or provide emergency contraception. Second, referrals cannot be made to any organization that provides or contracts with an organization that provides abortions.

Current Status: Received by the Secretary of State 2/9/2011, filed 2/9/2011, read first time 2/17/2011, referred to Health and Human Services 2/17/2011, scheduled for public hearing on 4/5/2011, considered in public hearing 4/5/2011, testimony taken in committee 4/5/2011, referred to s/c by chair 4/5/2011, scheduled for public hearing in s/c on 4/13/2011, subcommittee meeting cancelled 4/13/2011

For more information, click here.

S.B. No. 1381 – Supplemental Breast Cancer Screening

Primary Author: Rodney Ellis is a member of the Democratic Party. He holds a seat in the Texas Senate for District 13, which includes parts of Houston, and parts of Harris and Fort Bend counties.

Summary: Also known as Henda’s Law, this bill requires that all mammography reports contain the following statement:

“If your mammogram demonstrates that you have dense breast tissue, which could hide abnormalities, and you have other risk factors for breast cancer, you might benefit from supplemental screening tests, which can include a breast MRI examination or other forms of screening that may be suggested by your ordering physician.

“Dense breast tissue in and of itself is a relatively common condition. Therefore, this statement is not provided to cause undue concern, but rather to raise your awareness of the limitations of mammography testing and to promote discussion with your physician regarding the presence of other risk factors in addition to dense breast tissue that may warrant supplemental screening.

“A report of your mammography results, which contains information about your breast density, has been sent to your physician’s office, and you can contact your physician if you have any questions or concerns regarding this report.”

Potential Implications: This bill seeks to education women about what mammograms may miss, which in and of itself is great and nothing to be argued over. Where potential problems could fall though, is that there is the hope that the bill will ultimately lead to other bills requiring insurance companies to offer alternative methods of screening, which the insurance companies will likely have a problem with (Tongish, 2010).  The other area of concern is that this bill really only helps those who can afford supplemental screening, which is not an option for many of our most vulnerable populations.

Current Status: Received by the Secretary of State 3/9/2011, filed 3/9/2011, read first time 3/22/2011, referred to Health and Human Services 3/22/2011, co-author authorized 4/11/2011

For more information, click here.

References

Senator Leticia Van de Putte: District 26. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2011, from Senate of Texas website: http://www.vandeputte.senate.state.tx.us/

Senator Rodney Ellis: District 13. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2011, from The Senate of Texas website: http://www.ellis.senate.state.tx.us/dist13.htm

S. S.B. No. 575, 82nd Leg. Sess. Leg., 82(R) (Tex. 2011), http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/SB00575I.pdf#navpanes=0.

S. S.B. 1381, 82nd Leg. Sess. Leg., 82(R) (Tex. 2011), http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/SB01381I.pdf#navpanes=0.

Tongish, D. (2010, September 14). Proposal would require Texas insurance companies pay for better breast cancer screening. The 33-KDAF-TV. Retrieved from http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-dallas-lawmaker-calls-for-mandatory-breast-cancer-screening-story,0,3973680.story