SECTION 382.1. Introduction

(a) Governing rules. This subchapter sets out rules governing the administration of the Healthy Texas Women program (HTW).

(b) Authority. This subchapter is authorized generally by Texas Government Code §531.0201(a)(2)(C), which transfers client services functions performed by the Texas Department of State Health Services to HHSC, and Texas Government Code §531.0204, which requires the HHSC Executive Commissioner to develop a transition plan which includes an outline of HHSC's reorganized structure and a definition of client services functions.

(c) Objectives. HTW is established to achieve the following overarching objectives:

(1) to increase access to women's health and family planning services to:

(A) avert unintended pregnancies;

(B) positively affect the outcome of future pregnancies; and

(C) positively impact the health and wellbeing of women and their families;

(2) to implement the state policy to favor childbirth and family planning services that do not include elective abortion or the promotion of elective abortion within the continuum of care or services;

(3) to ensure the efficient and effective use of state funds in support of these objectives and to avoid the direct or indirect use of state funds to promote or support elective abortion;

(4) to reduce the overall cost of publicly-funded health care (including federally-funded health care) by providing low-income Texans access to safe, effective services that are consistent with these objectives; and

(5) to enforce Texas Human Resources Code §32.024(c-1) and any other state law that regulates the delivery of non-federally funded family planning services, to the extent permitted by the Constitution of the United States.

Source Note: The provisions of this §382.1 adopted to be effective July 1, 2016, 41 TexReg 4623