As the start of the 88th Texas Legislative session quickly approaches, Recovery People is excited to announce the pre-filing of HB249 (Murr), regarding patient brokering
Patient brokering has plagued healthcare for decades. While legislation was passed regarding patient brokering in the 90s, the marketplace has changed and laws have become outdated and forgotten. A new wave of patient brokering has arisen across the nation, and as other states address this issue, “bad players” move to states, such as Texas, where patient brokering is less scrutinized.
HB 249 addresses continued patient brokering concerns by establishing a task force to study and make recommendations to prevent patient exploitation and deceptive business practices, as well as requiring mental health and substance use treatment facilities to distinguish between their marketing activities and clinical functions. In addition, HB 249 updates types of facilities to include current language, updates types of marketing mechanisms to include current technology, and increases fines and penalties for engaging in patient brokering activities.