Texas

The Center has worked with Texas’s Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) since 2014 to improve processes that enable evidence-based decision making and improve health outcomes for Texas’ most vulnerable populations. Starting with an initial project in 2014 to improve HHSC’s processes for making coverage determinations, the Center used a four-step process to identify and synthesize best practices in state medical coverage decision processes, internal and external stakeholder needs, and shared principles for policy decision making processes. The Center and HHSC used the information to develop a redesigned coverage decision process that included updates to: 1) topic identification; 2) topic selection and prioritization; 3) evidence and policy review; and 4) policy determinations and communication. The Center developed a suite of tools and trainings to support the implementation of the redesigned decision making process, and continues  to provide technical assistance to HHSC staff in the form of consultation, training, and research support.