State Representative Celia Israel (District 50) currently serves on the House Transportation and Elections Committees, as well as the Transportation Sub-Committee on Long-Term Infrastructure and Planning. District 73 encompasses Comal, Gillespie, and Kendall counties in the eastern portion of the Texas Hill Country. State Representative-Elect Kyle Biedermann (District 73) is a small business owner in his native Fredericksburg, Texas. State Representative Ina Minjarez (District 124) is a member of the Texas House of Reprentatives, where she is currently serving on the Transportation, State Affairs, and Federal Environmental Regulation Committees. State Representative John Kuempel (District 44) currently serves as Chairman of the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee, and is a member of both the State Affairs and Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committees. Howard is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, sits on its Article III Subcommittee which oversees education spending in the state budget, the Vice-Chair of the Higher Education Committee, and member of the House Administration Committee. State Representative Donna Howard (District 48) has served in the Texas House of Representatives since 2006. The moderator will be John Moritz of the USA Today Austin Bureau. Opening remarks by New Braunfels Mayor Barron Casteel. All of these pieces working together will help ensure that more Texans have equal access to mental health and other health care services through their health insurance plans.The Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council invites you to the 2017 Texas Legislative Session Preview Luncheon with State Representatives: Donna Howard, John Kuempel, Ina Minjarez, Kyle Biedermann, and Celia Israel. HB 10 helps to address ongoing challenges with oversight, data collection, cross-agency collaboration, and consumer assistance. Mental health parity laws hold great promise in helping Texans access needed health care to achieve recovery, but that promise of parity has not yet been fully realized. Consumer assistance: HB 10 creates a central location with designated staff to help and improve consumer assistance to Texans who encounter obstacles when trying to access MH/SUD services, including consumers who encounter mental health parity violations.Stakeholder workgroup: HB 10 brings stakeholders together for dialog about mental health parity and cross-agency collaboration, establishing a workgroup to develop a Texas strategy and common understanding for successful compliance with parity.Collecting Data: HB 10 calls for collecting data related to certain potential non-quantitative treatment limits to help all stakeholders better understand consumers’ experiences with accessing health care.Regulation and enforcement: HB 10 expands TDI’s authority to enforce the requirements of the federal parity law and regulations for all health insurance plans regulated by the state, making sure to include both quantitative treatment limitations, like visit limits and copays, and non-quantitative limitations, like reviews for medical necessity.HB 10 addresses mental health and substance use disorder parity from four angles: Representative Four Price (R-Amarillo) authored HB 10 and Senator Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) sponsored the bill in the Senate. HB 10: The Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Bill It is important to note that “parity” requires equal coverage, not necessarily good or comprehensive coverage. For example, if an insurer provides unlimited doctor visits for a condition like diabetes, then the insurer should also provide unlimited doctor’s visits for mental health conditions like depression or schizophrenia. When a plan has “parity” it means that health insurance coverage of mental health is equal to coverage for physical health. In health care, “parity” describes the equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance use disorders by insurance plans, when compared to coverage for physical health care. This policy brief looks at why Texas needed HB 10, and how the new law will help improve access to care for people in need of mental health and substance use disorder services. The new law takes effect September 1, 2017, though full implementation will take more time. The goal is for more insured Texans have equal access to both physical health care and care for mental health and substance use disorder needs. The new law, signed by Governor Abbott, aims to address ongoing challenges with mental health and substance use disorder “parity” protections. During the 2017 Texas Regular Legislative Session, lawmakers passed an important bill related to mental health parity ( House Bill 10).
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