August 6th, 2024
House Bill (H.B.) 4169 (Price) which was passed by the 88th Legislature directs HHSC to add pre-vocational services as a new benefit to HCS, TxHmL and DBMD.
HHSC activities related to Implementation:
- Following the bill’s passage and Governor’s signature, HHSC consulted with the IDD SRAC Meaningful Skills Development & Employment Services subcommittee on several occasions to not only obtain feedback on implementation of the service, but also to share conversations HHSC had with CMS regarding the bill including that CMS told HHSC the service must be separate from ISS.
- Earlier this year, (February 15, 2024), HHSC held a public hearing to receive comment on the proposed new service. Links to the recording of the public hearing and HHSC handout are provided below.
- Last month HHSC sought public comment on the waiver amendments it intends to submit to CMS later this month requesting approval to add the new service to the HCS, TxHmL and DBMD waiver programs.
- Last Friday, August 2, 2024, HHSC published as proposed in the Texas Register rules to implement the new service in the HCS,TxHmL & DBMD programs. See attached or the link provided below.
- Effective date targeted for January 1, 2025.
Proposed Rules: There are two options for reading the proposed rules. You may click on the first link under ‘Resources’ below, or you may download the attached documents. If choosing the latter option, know that PPAT highlighted the following items in yellow: the proposed provisions, the summary of proposed amendments (see Section-by-Section Summary, pages 1-2), and the Public Comment instructions (page 3).
Resources:
Link to access the DBMD, TxHmL & HCS HB 4169 rules as proposed in the August 2, 2024 Texas Register:
February 15, 2024 HHSC Public Hearing: https://texashhsc.v3.swagit.com/videos/297572
Link to handout provided at February 15, 2024 Public Hearing:
