Bill Text: TX SB2448 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the use of funds appropriated by the Department of State Health Services to deliver low-dose, at-home racemic ketamine via telehealth to improve healthcare access and mental health outcomes across rural and high-risk populations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-23 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB2448 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB2448-Introduced.html
| By: Menéndez | S.B. No. 2448 | |
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| relating to the use of funds appropriated by the Department of State | ||
| Health Services to deliver low-dose, at-home racemic ketamine via | ||
| telehealth to improve healthcare access and mental health outcomes | ||
| across rural and high-risk populations. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 1001.203, Health and Safety Code is | ||
| amended by adding Section 1001.2032 to read as follows: | ||
| (1) The purpose of this Act is to provide for expanded | ||
| healthcare access, reduced care costs, improved mental health, | ||
| reduced chronic pain, increased workforce productivity, improved | ||
| trauma management for first responders and active military, and | ||
| improved health rankings for rural and high-risk populations across | ||
| Texas by authorizing the Department of State Health Services to | ||
| fund low-dose, at-home ketamine using medical technology in the | ||
| form of targeted intranasal delivery that can optimize the | ||
| effectiveness of and reduce the potential side effects related to | ||
| racemic ketamine treatments. | ||
| (2) The Department of State Health Services shall direct | ||
| funding to treat rural health population, first responders, | ||
| veterans, and activity military with a clinical diagnosis of | ||
| depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and chronic | ||
| pain. The Department of State Health Services shall allocate a | ||
| total of $55,000,000 for the purpose of providing funding during | ||
| the state fiscal years ending August 31, 2024 and August 31, 2025 | ||
| for the treatment of at least 15,000 adults that are designated as | ||
| living in a rural area of Texas, at least 8,000 first responders, | ||
| and at least 6,000 veterans or active military. | ||
| (3) The Department of State Health Services shall transfer | ||
| the appropriations through contracts with low-dose, at-home | ||
| racemic ketamine service providers that utilize targeted | ||
| intranasal drug delivery. When treating mental health and | ||
| neurological conditions, which requires the delivery of | ||
| pharmaceutical agents to the brain, it is well understood that | ||
| using oral administration is the least efficient and problematic | ||
| route and intravenous or intramuscular administration prohibits | ||
| at-home, self-administration, which is required to maximize access | ||
| to care. The most optimized route of administration is intranasal, | ||
| where certain regions of the nasal anatomy provide optimized | ||
| pathways for drug delivery that can eliminate side effects that can | ||
| reduce treatment compliance and maximize potential health | ||
| outcomes. The treatment protocol shall not exceed 30 to 60 | ||
| milligrams of racemic ketamine per individual treatment and shall | ||
| not exceed a total of 180 to 360 milligrams of racemic ketamine for | ||
| the entire treatment program, as this sub-anesthetic and low-dose | ||
| treatment protocol will minimize the potential for side-effects. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution, and shall | ||
| expire September 1, 2025. | ||
| SECTION 3: The Department of State Health Services required | ||
| to implement this Act only if the legislature appropriates money | ||
| specifically for the purpose stated in SECTION 1 if this Act. If the | ||
| legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that | ||
| purpose, the Department of State Health Services may, but is not | ||
| required to, implement this Act using other appropriations | ||
| available for the purpose. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. | ||
