88th Session
87th Session
86th Session
88th Session
2023
Clear Process and Orphan Drug Riders
House Bill 1, the General Appropriations Act, includes directives to each state agency, referred to as riders, that provide additional direction for how spending funds should be conducted. THBI worked to ensure that Art. II Rider 152, which requires HHSC to continue to maintain a clear process for including approved prescription drugs on the Texas Drug Code Index, was included in the final budget. This requires all newly approved drugs to be approved as a Medicaid benefit within 90 days, ensuring patients have access to these new innovations as soon as possible
House Bill 1, the General Appropriations Act, includes directives to each state agency, referred to as riders, that provide additional direction for how spending funds should be conducted. THBI worked to ensure that Art. II Rider 152, which requires HHSC to continue to maintain a clear process for including approved prescription drugs on the Texas Drug Code Index, was included in the final budget. This requires all newly approved drugs to be approved as a Medicaid benefit within 90 days, ensuring patients have access to these new innovations as soon as possible
Medicaid Drug Benefit Addition Process
House Bill 1283 and House Bill 3286 both passed, ensuring that Texans enrolled in Medicaid have an accessible and effective drug benefit. The bills work together to help protect patients in Medicaid maintain fair and effective access to their medications by maintaining the current state-operated drug formulary and creating new rules and requirements to ease patient access to medications when there is a drug shortage or a newly approved drug on the market.
Biomarker Testing
THBI partnered with the American Cancer Society-Cancer Action Network to help pass Senate Bill 989, which ensures that insured patients can access certain biomarker tests necessary to define the most effective course of treatment. A biomarker test is a medical test of any biological aspect of a person that provides key information to help define the most effective treatments designed to work with that patients’ biology and thereby increasing their chances of recovery.
Newborn Screening Program
A key program at DSHS is the Newborn Screening Program. This program not only provides invaluable data to parents about the health and wellbeing of their newborn, but the program also provides the state with awareness around the incidents of rare diseases in Texas children. According to the National Institutes of Health, there are approximately 7,000 rare diseases affecting between 25 and 30 million Americans. This equates to 1 in 10 Americans. Because these diseases are often misdiagnosed or are difficult to diagnose, the Newborn Screening Program is an invaluable tool. House Bill 2478 makes improvements to the program, including an annual report and some expanded programming. 
For more on THBI's efforts during the 88th Texas Legislative Session, the End of Session Report 2023 is an informative guide to the actions of the session and how those actions will impact the life science and biotech industry and its stakeholders, patients, and partners.
THBI's advocacy efforts would not be possible without the support and investment of it's members. If you are interested in joining our Legislative Committee to be more active in our advocacy efforts, please contact us at info@thbi.com.
87th Session
2021
Clear Process and Orphan Drug Riders
Senate Bill 1, the state's biennial budget, includes the development of a clear process for including prescription medications on the Texas Drug Code Index requiring HHSC to clarify their process for the inclusion of prescription drugs in both Medicaid and CHIP.
Senate Bill 1, the state's biennial budget, includes the development of a clear process for including prescription medications on the Texas Drug Code Index requiring HHSC to clarify their process for the inclusion of prescription drugs in both Medicaid and CHIP.
The bill also includes a special provision of notification related to orphan drugs rates and rate increases. An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent that has been developed specifically to treat individuals diagnosed with orphan diseases, defined as affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Orphan diseases are often serious or life threatening, and these drugs often fill an unmet need.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Newborn Screening
Senate Bill 1 includes the Texas Department of State Health Services' (DSHS) funding request to fully implement the newborn screening of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
SMA is the number one genetic cause of death for infants. Spinal muscular atrophy is a genetic disorder that starts in the central nervous system and affects all the muscles in the body, taking away the ability to walk, eat, or breathe. Newborn screening is the most effective and efficient way for babies with SMA to access timely detection, identification, and treatments.
86th Session
2019
Clear Process and Orphan Drug Riders
HB1 (the state budget) includes the development of a clear process for including prescription medications on the Texas Drug Code Index requiring HHSC to clarify their process for the inclusion of prescription drugs in both Medicaid and CHIP. The bill also includes a provision of notification related to orphan drugs which is a pharmaceutical agent that has been developed specifically to treat a rare medical condition.
HB1 (the state budget) includes the development of a clear process for including prescription medications on the Texas Drug Code Index requiring HHSC to clarify their process for the inclusion of prescription drugs in both Medicaid and CHIP. The bill also includes a provision of notification related to orphan drugs which is a pharmaceutical agent that has been developed specifically to treat a rare medical condition.
Public Information Act
SB 943 relates to the regulation of contracting information and certain entities that handle contracting information that would be considered public. THBI was successful in adding language that would better clarify and protect the definition of a trade secret, including those for pharmaceutical products.
SB 943 relates to the regulation of contracting information and certain entities that handle contracting information that would be considered public. THBI was successful in adding language that would better clarify and protect the definition of a trade secret, including those for pharmaceutical products.
Newborn Screening
SB 748 relates to maternal and newborn health care, including the newborn screening preservation account as a dedicated account in general revenue to be administered by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Money in the account can only be appropriated to DSHS and only for the purposes of carrying out the newborn screening program.
SB 748 relates to maternal and newborn health care, including the newborn screening preservation account as a dedicated account in general revenue to be administered by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Money in the account can only be appropriated to DSHS and only for the purposes of carrying out the newborn screening program.
CPRIT
HJR 12 (now Proposition 6) on the November 5, 2019 ballot is the continuation of CPRIT and would allow the Texas Legislature to increase the maximum amount of bonds from $3 billion to $6 billion. THBI is involved in a statewide campaign of advocacy organizations with the goal passing Proposition 6 to continue funding cancer research and prevention in Texas for the next decade.
HJR 12 (now Proposition 6) on the November 5, 2019 ballot is the continuation of CPRIT and would allow the Texas Legislature to increase the maximum amount of bonds from $3 billion to $6 billion. THBI is involved in a statewide campaign of advocacy organizations with the goal passing Proposition 6 to continue funding cancer research and prevention in Texas for the next decade.