2023 Texas Legislature Comes to an End

The regular session of the Texas Legislature has come to an end, and we are happy to report some major victories on behalf of families and businesses when it comes to fighting out-of-control health care costs.

 We began the session by delivering a simple message to lawmakers: Texas is experiencing a health care cost crisis, and that crisis has been driven by unfunded mandates. When I talked to lawmakers at the Capitol, I often began with one request: do not pass any more legislation containing Big Government mandates that will drive up costs further than they already have been.

I’m happy to report that lawmakers took that message seriously, and in many cases declined to act on bills that would have increased costs. For instance, HB 2021/SB1137 would have added costly new requirements to employer-sponsored prescription drug plans, making Rx drugs even less affordable and leading to some businesses dropping coverage all-together. Thousands of Texans contacted their lawmakers through the TAHC website in opposition to that legislation, and dozens of Texas employers signed a letter in opposition. To their credit, our lawmakers listened and chose not to advance the bills beyond committee.

Supporters (including me!) attend the bill signing for SB 490, which requires hospitals to provide patients with itemized, easy to read bills.

I’m also happy to report that lawmakers passed several bills we supported that will also actively work to increase access to care and decrease or curb costs. SB 490, for instance, requires that hospitals give their patients easy-to-read, itemized billing so they understand what they are being charged for. SB 25 will expand the pool of registered nurses (who play a key role in delivering affordable care) in Texas by providing more access to scholarships for education and training. HB 3286 offers more protections for Medicaid patients, SB 241 will help to prevent price increases on insulin, and SB 2476 helps to reduce instances of surprise medical bills from emergency medical services providers. All of these pieces of legislation represent positive steps forward for Texas families seeking affordable healthcare options, and our thanks go out to the lawmakers who authored these bills and supported their passage.

Unfortunately, there was also at least one bill that passed in 2023 that is raising alarm bells here at TAHC. House Bill 4990allocates $150 million for the creation of a new government agency that will negotiate pharmacy benefits for state employees, essentially taking the place of private sector pharmacy benefit managers (or “PBMs”). That’s an extremely expensive way of duplicating something the private sector is already doing quite well. It also goes above and beyond what even an expansive program like Obamacare imagines as the appropriate role of government in health care. We will monitor the implementation of this closely, as ultimately we believe that government forays like this into health care management come with big price tags and do little to improve quality or access to care.

As we move forward, there are two bills that were introduced this session but failed to advance, and we hope lawmakers will take them up when they reconvene in 2025. SB 1581 would have created a new advisory committee at the University of Texas Health Science Center which would prepare cost analyses of any proposed new mandate in health care. As I have argued before, the imposition of new mandates has been a driving force behind our health care cost crisis. At the very least, if lawmakers want to pursue new mandates, they should know the costs they are burdening families with and be prepared to share those costs with the public.

Secondly, HB 1001/SB 605 would have created a“mandate-lite” option for employers looking to provide health care and Rx drug benefits for their employers, circumventing many of Texas’ cost-prohibitive requirements and mandates. This would have increased the number of Texans able to receive affordable benefits, which is what Texans for Affordable Health Care is all about!

Overall, our team at Texans for Affordable Health Care was happy with the 2023 legislative session and the work done to reduce and contain health care costs in the Lone Star State. We owe that success to YOU, our advocates and supporters, for speaking out and letting lawmakers understand that reducing health care costs has to be a priority. In fact, over 15,000Texans contacted their lawmaker through our website, and that contact definitely made a difference!

We’ve got a lot of work to do as we move forward to build on these important gains for Texas. As we move forward, you’ll be hearing more from us about opportunities to get involved and make an impact.

As always, thanks for your support and advocacy.