SB 1803 HAS PASSED THE HOUSE!

Texas CapitolThis morning, the Texas House of Representatives passed CSSB 1803 with a vote of 119 to 20 in favor.  This is a great victory for Medicaid providers as it for the first time outlines in legislation due process rights.

The bill was amended yesterday by Rep. Lois Kolkhorst to give Medicaid providers the right to appeal a decision of the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) to a judicial review in Travis County on an overpayment hearing.  Although the final wording of the bill has not yet been posted to the Capitol website , it appears there is no longer a separate track for overpayments over $1 million as opposed to under $1 million.  Also there is no express denial to the right of an appeal.

The Texas Tribune also reported on the legislation as well as the Statesman that the bill would pass the House today.

While this legislation does not encompass trial de novo, it is a very good start.  As Rep. Kolkhorst commented, getting any due process legislation enacted is something that has been trying to be accomplished for years.  It is now done!

The video of Rep. Kolkhorst and Rep. Guerra’s comments will be posted sometime today as well.

Here is the record of the vote!

Unofficial Totals: 119 Yeas, 20 Nays, 3 Present, not voting

Yeas – Allen; Alonzo; Alvarado; Anchia; Anderson; Aycock; Bell; Bohac; Bonnen, G.; Branch; Burkett; Burnam; Callegari; Canales; Coleman; Collier; Cook; Cortez; Creighton; Crownover; Dale; Darby; Davis, J.; Davis, S.; Davis, Y.; Deshotel; Dukes; Dutton; Eiland; Elkins; Farias; Farrar; Fletcher; Flynn; Frullo; Geren; Giddings; Goldman; Gonzales; González, M.; Gonzalez, N.; Gooden; Guerra; Guillen; Gutierrez; Harless; Harper-Brown; Hernandez Luna; Herrero; Hilderbran; Howard; Huberty; Hughes; Hunter; Isaac; Johnson; Keffer; King, K.; King, P.; King, T.; Kleinschmidt; Klick; Kolkhorst; Kuempel; Larson; Laubenberg; Lavender; Leach; Longoria; Lozano; Márquez; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; McClendon; Menéndez; Miles; Miller, D.; Miller, R.; Moody; Morrison; Muñoz; Murphy; Naishtat; Nevárez; Oliveira; Otto; Paddie; Patrick; Perez; Pickett; Price; Raney; Ratliff; Raymond; Reynolds; Riddle; Rodriguez, E.; Rodriguez, J.; Rose; Sheets; Sheffield, J.; Sheffield, R.; Simmons; Smith; Smithee; Stephenson; Strama; Thompson, S.; Toth; Turner, C.; Turner, E.S.; Turner, S.; Villalba; Villarreal; Walle; Workman; Wu; Zedler; Zerwas

Nays – Ashby; Button; Capriglione; Carter; Clardy; Craddick; Farney; Frank; Kacal; Krause; Parker; Perry; Phillips; Sanford; Schaefer; Springer; Stickland; Taylor; Thompson, E.; White

Present, not voting – Bonnen, D.; Mr. Speaker; Ritter(C)

Absent, Excused – Fallon; King, S.; Lewis; Orr; Vo

Absent, Excused, Committee Meeting – Pitts

Absent – Lucio; Simpson