Relating to information regarding perinatal palliative care; creating an administrative penalty.
Summary
HB 2684, titled the Perinatal Palliative Care Act, would require the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to create and post informational materials about perinatal palliative care, including a statewide, geographically indexed list of providers and programs. The materials must describe available services and explain possible medical assistance benefits for prenatal care, childbirth, and perinatal palliative care. The commission would also create a certification form for pregnant women to acknowledge receipt of the information.
The bill places a direct duty on health care providers who diagnose a preborn child with a life-threatening disability: they must give the patient the informational materials, the provider list, and the certification form, and then obtain the signed form for the medical record. Providers are exempt from repeating the materials if the signed form is already in the record for that pregnancy. A violation of these requirements would be subject to professional discipline, with a written warning for the first violation and a $1,000 administrative penalty for each later violation.
Impact
HB 2684 would amend Chapter 161 of the Health and Safety Code by adding a new subchapter on perinatal palliative care. It would create new state-level informational and documentation requirements for health care providers, while also directing the commission to maintain public-facing resources on palliative care options and related benefits. The bill would affect obstetric, maternal-fetal medicine, neonatal, and other providers involved in diagnosing severe fetal conditions, and it would create a new enforcement mechanism through the relevant state licensing agency.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been framed as a patient-information measure intended to ensure families are aware of supportive care options when a fetus is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. Because there were no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided materials, there is no direct evidence of floor debate or formal support/opposition in the record here. Its placement in committee and lack of further action suggest it did not advance beyond initial consideration during the session.
Contention
The main likely point of contention is the bill’s intersection with abortion policy and reproductive health care. The bill expressly excludes abortion providers and affiliates from the state’s provider list, which may be viewed by supporters as consistent with the bill’s purpose but by opponents as ideologically driven and limiting patient access to comprehensive information. Another possible concern is the mandate on providers to deliver materials and obtain signed certification forms at the time of diagnosis, which could be seen as an administrative burden or as influencing counseling in emotionally difficult medical situations.
Relating to perinatal bereavement care provided by certain hospitals, a perinatal bereavement care initiative, and a perinatal bereavement care hospital recognition program.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-127 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 32.1 a chapter numbered 21, consisting of sections numbered 32.1-376 and 32.1-377, relating to Palliative Care Information and Education Program; Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council established.