29 Apr Texas Senate Approves Overhaul of Long-Term Medicaid Care
The Texas Senate has approved a bill on long-term and acute care Medicaid to expand managed care services, to provide services at capitulated costs and to re-design functional assessments to more accurately assess patient needs.
Some have expressed fears that Medicaid managed care plans would reduce reimbursement rates or limit provider networks forcing disabled Texans to lose access to trusted medical providers or community-based services. However, an amendment allows disabled participants the choice to remain in a Medicaid waiver program or join a Medicaid managed care program. It also sets up a service to help those with developmental or intellectual disabilities have access to community-based services to keep them from being institutionalized and keep them near their home.