Last Session: HB 2136 Update
Law to Regulate Broker Subcontractors Never Fully Implemented
Last session HB 2136 was authored by two-time recipient of the Texas Transit Association Legislator of the Year Award, Rep. Ryan Guillen and sponsor
ed by one-time Legislator of the
Year recipient Sen. Judith Zaffirini. HB 2136 was intended to regulate
subcontractors of full-risk brokers to ensure that subcontractors have
the proper background checks, licensing, training and vehicle safety
/maintenance standards. Here is the link to the bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/HB02136F.pdf#navpanes=0
So how is that going so far? So far, not much. First, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) was required by law to provide a training program and promulgate rules by Aug., 2013. Neither has been done to date, and with the impending legislative session kicking off in January, 2013, it is unlikely HHSC will get around to it any time soon.
What has been the result? Testimony given at the recent statewide public hearings
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/medicaid/index.html revealed that the brokers continue to contract with just about anyone. Apparently there are two critical criteria to be a subcontractor of a broker: 1. Have a pulse; and 2. Have a vehicle. Here are some tidbits that revealed at the public hearings:
• One women testified her mother was driven for 5 months by the same driver until it was “finally” discovered he was a registered sex offender.
• One women testified the van did not have the proper tie downs for a wheel chair and her husband was being tossed around the van during the trip.
• Another testified that after she complained to the broker that the vans were not ADA compliant, she was told that “ADA did not apply to the private sector.”
• Another revealed the driver drove down the wrong way down a highway while on a cell phone.
• One woman complained about the trash in the van – especially grotesque because it was the SAME trash week after week.
On and on…..
It’s time to enforce HB 2136 without delay.
So how is that going so far? So far, not much. First, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) was required by law to provide a training program and promulgate rules by Aug., 2013. Neither has been done to date, and with the impending legislative session kicking off in January, 2013, it is unlikely HHSC will get around to it any time soon.
What has been the result? Testimony given at the recent statewide public hearings
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/medicaid/index.html revealed that the brokers continue to contract with just about anyone. Apparently there are two critical criteria to be a subcontractor of a broker: 1. Have a pulse; and 2. Have a vehicle. Here are some tidbits that revealed at the public hearings:
• One women testified her mother was driven for 5 months by the same driver until it was “finally” discovered he was a registered sex offender.
• One women testified the van did not have the proper tie downs for a wheel chair and her husband was being tossed around the van during the trip.
• Another testified that after she complained to the broker that the vans were not ADA compliant, she was told that “ADA did not apply to the private sector.”
• Another revealed the driver drove down the wrong way down a highway while on a cell phone.
• One woman complained about the trash in the van – especially grotesque because it was the SAME trash week after week.
On and on…..
It’s time to enforce HB 2136 without delay.
This is preposterous! One incident was too many and at that point the seantor should have called a halt to HHSC and demanded an outside inquiry. That's malfeasance. And, wasn't there a terrible incident that happened to someone in a powerchair too? A reporter mentioned it a couple of years ago on Fox.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, it's obvious that every county, COUNTY, not state because HHSC is incompetent or the legislators let this slide by = every county must put in place very tight restrictions on the qualifications that anyone carrying, transferring, transporting, or moving anyone in a manual or powerchair, or who is deaf or blind, or over age 62, or a child have proof of training overseen by that county's present top-transporation company, be Bonded, licensed for that type of transportation, be under Texas Dept of Transporation inspections on-site, and at random, and also minimum qualifications in regards to vehicles, and continuing education. This is about people, not carrying loads of lumber or steel, and those vehicles and drivers have far more stingent requirments to maintain.