Sec. 501.147.  POWERS AND DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT; AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.  (a)  The department, in cooperation with the contracting entities, shall:
(1)  establish a managed health care provider network of physicians and hospitals to provide health care to persons confined by the department; and
(2)  evaluate and recommend to the board sites for new medical facilities that appropriately support the managed health care provider network.
(b)  The department may:
(1)  communicate with the legislature regarding the financial needs of the correctional health care system;
(2)  monitor the expenditures of a contracting entity to ensure that those expenditures comply with applicable statutory and contractual requirements;
(3)  address problems found through monitoring activities, including requiring corrective action if care does not meet expectations as determined by those monitoring activities;
(4)  identify and address long-term needs of the correctional health care system;
(5)  contract with any entity to fully implement the managed health care plan under this subchapter, including contracting for health care services and the integration of those services into the managed health care provider network;
(6)  contract with an individual for financial consulting services and make use of financial monitoring of the managed health care plan to assist the department in determining an accurate capitation rate; and
(7)  contract with an individual for actuarial consulting services to assist the department in determining trends in the health of the inmate population and the impact of those trends on future financial needs.
(c)  In contracting for the implementation of the managed health care plan, the department shall:
(1)  include provisions necessary to ensure that the contracting entity is eligible for and makes reasonable efforts to participate in the purchase of prescription drugs under Section 340B, Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Section 256b); and
(2) to the extent possible, integrate the managed health care provider network with the medical schools and the component and affiliated hospitals of those medical schools. 
(d)  For services that a governmental entity cannot provide, the department shall initiate a competitive bidding process for contracts with other providers for medical care to persons confined by the department.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1190, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.  Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 236, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by: 
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 4 (S.B. 1), Sec. 42.04, eff. September 28, 2011.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1154 (S.B. 213), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2013.