Federal Policy Priorities

Teaching Hospitals of Texas engages on federal policy issues as they impact health care financing and delivery, care for the uninsured, Medicaid and Medicare, 340b, GME funding, COVID-19 funding, and other issues of vital importance for the state’s largest hospitals.

1115 Medicaid Waiver

The Medicaid 1115 Transformation Waiver provides critical funding for Texas hospitals. THOT supports both continuation of the 1115 Waiver and expansion of coverage for uninsured Texans. As of March 2022, the waiver is extended for 10 years with resized uncompensated care pool payments and enables funding for Directed Payment Programs (DPP) (like CHIRP, TIPPS, etc.) pending CMS approval of annual DPP State Plan Amendments

Information on the history of the waiver and renewal is available here.

Fund COVID-19-Related Services for the Uninsured

Texas’ teaching hospitals support continuing funding of COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccine services for uninsured Texans. Hospitals that provide essential community health services have disproportionately treated uninsured COVID patients during previous surges of the virus and will be on the front lines of future spikes in cases and hospitalizations and also for community testing since most communities have shut down their testing sites.

Download the Issue Overview

Continue Hospital at Home Waiver Authority

Texas’ teaching hospitals support federal legislation to continue the Hospital at Home program. Currently authorized as a COVID-19 public health emergency waiver, Hospital at Home allows hospitals to deliver inpatient-level care in patients’ homes. Two THOT members — University Health and Parkland Health — are among the 200 hospitals nationwide that operate these innovative, patient-centered programs, and Harris Health is preparing to operate a program.

THOT supports filed legislation, the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, to continue the program for two years beyond expiration of the PHE.

Download the Issue Brief