Monthly Archives - March 2019

Smoking cessation help available for parents and caregivers

Smoke-free homes lead to better health outcomes and reduced ED admissions for patients with asthma. Texas Children’s Health Plan provides free smoking cessation counseling and up to $75 of nicotine replacement products for the parents and caregivers of members with asthma. As a provider, you can help your patients more by supporting smoking cessation for parents and caregivers. If your practice site is interested in learning how to enroll parents/caregivers in this program, please contact Texas Children’s Health Plan’s Care...

Provider Alert!

Provider Alert! Update: Reimbursement Code for Sports and Camp Physicals

As spring training and sports begin, it’s an ideal time to ensure that all members are receiving their Texas Health Steps check ups timely. Texas Children’s Health Plan wants to remind our pediatric providers about sports physicals as value-added services. Members aged 5 - 19 (STAR & CHIP), 5 – 20 (STAR Kids) who have had a Texas Health Steps check up in the last 12 months will be eligible for one annual sports and school physical delivered by their Primary...

Provider Alert!

Provider Alert! Prior Authorization

Prior authorization alert Effective January 1, 2019, Texas Children’s Health Plan updated the prior authorization listing. Please note there are some key changes for providers. Removed from the list and will no longer require prior authorization: Baclofen Pump New to the list: Home Telemonitoring Updates: Ambulance (non-emergent transport) has been updated to Non-Emergency Ambulance Transport. Augmentative Communication Device has been updated to Augmentative Communication Device and Accessories. Chemotherapy non-FDA approved has been updated to Non-FDA approved medications. Cranial Molding Orthosis (Helmets) has been updated to Cranial Molding Orthosis. High cost (>$50,000) injectable...

Texas Children’s Health Plan partners with Baylor College of Medicine to address and prevent opioid abuse in perinatal populations

Women of childbearing age have been disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic. Consequently, the rates of in utero drug exposure and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome have increased dramatically over the last decade.  In Texas, overdose is the leading cause of maternal death in the first postpartum year. To prevent and respond to these issues, faculty from Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Health Plan were recently awarded funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s grant program entitled Combating Opioid...