Texas State Health Plan: 1993-94 Page: 1
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INTRODUCTION
FOCUS OF THE 1993-94 STATE HEALTH
PLAN
The Texas State Health Plan is developed
biennially by the Texas Statewide Health
Coordinating Council (SHCC) as a guide to help
Texas decision-makers formulate cost-effective
health policies and programs and determine the
resources needed to conduct those programs. The
plan represents a large-scale cooperative effort to
provide direction for refining and implementing
essential health programs in Texas. It identifies
major statewide health concerns, recommends
strategies to resolve these concerns, and analyzes
the need for various types of health facilities and
services. The overarching goal is to assure
equitable access to needed health care services --
at affordable prices -- for all Texas residents.
The focus of the 1993-94 Texas State Health Plan
is the individual. There are many complex
national and state issues to be addressed in
reforming health care, issues ranging from
spiraling costs to alcohol and chemical
dependency. Fortunately, there are tools to
address many if not all of these critical areas of
concern. Preventive and primary care have
proven to be effective means of improving and
maintaining health throughout the stages of an
individual's life. This state health plan follows
five stages of the life cycle, perinatal/infant,
pediatric, adolescent, adult, and elderly; at each
stage the plan looks at ways that preventive and
primary care services could be used to improve
the health of individuals. In addition, attention is
given to the special health concerns of minority
populations, residents of border and rural
communities, and people with disabling health
conditions.
This state health plan provides more than one
hundred recommendations for actions to improve
Texans' health. Implementing the plan will
require efforts by the legislature, state agencies,
and public and private sector providers. There is
a role for business and for health insurance
companies. One "economy" found in the plan is
that the same recommendation or series of
recommendations can apply to more than one
stage of the life cycle or health care concern. In
many cases the cost of the recommendations is
minimal, and some of them can be accomplished
through a redirection of existing resources. Aswith any planning effort, the state health plan is
only as good as its implementation. The challenge
with this plan will be to take a fresh look at the
most effective ways of spending the state's health
care dollars and to be willing to invest in methods
that will "pay off" in preventing or ameliorating
more serious and costly health conditions.
HEALTH PLANNING IN TEXAS
Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC)
The Texas Health Planning and Development Act,
now Chapter 104, Health and Safety Code,
established the health planning process for the
state in 1975. Originally based on federal law,
the Act was amended in 1985 to provide a health
planning process specifically for Texas. The
SHCC is composed of 21 members who are
appointed by the governor from across the state.
The federal health planning legislation originally
required that statewide health coordinating
councils be comprised of consumer majorities, and
Texas' governors have continued to follow this
precedent even after repeal of the federal health
planning law.
Council members are appointed for staggered two-
year terms, providing for a change in one-half of
the SHCC membership during each planning
cycle. The SHCC is responsible for developing
policy recommendations, guiding the development
of the plan, adopting the plan for presentation to
the governor for approval and overseeing the
plan's implementation.
The state has maintained a commitment to health
planning, and the SHCC has continued to foster
the efforts to plan for an efficient health care
service delivery system. In 1991 the 72nd Texas
Legislature passed two bills, House Bills (HB) 7
and 2009, both of which made strategic planning
a mandated activity in Texas. This action is seen
by the SHCC as another opportunity to fulfill its
coordinative responsibilities, in that the SHCC is
the only statewide health planning group
comprised of a majority of consumer and citizen
members.
The Texas Department of Health (Bureau of State
Health Data and Policy Analysis) serves as the1
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Texas. Statewide Health Coordinating Council. Texas State Health Plan: 1993-94, report, 1992; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1586367/m1/19/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.