SB 984 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to access to individualized investigational treatments for patients with life-threatening or severely debilitating illnesses.

SB 984 creates a new chapter in Texas law to expand access to personalized medical treatments for patients with life-threatening or severely debilitating illnesses. It allows patients who have exhausted all FDA-approved options to receive individualized investigational treatments - such as gene therapies or vaccines tailored to their genetic profile - after their physician confirms eligibility and obtains written consent. Healthcare facilities must comply with federal human subjects protections, and physicians must verify the illness severity and base treatment recommendations on the patient's genomic data. This law directly affects patients with specific severe conditions, their doctors, and medical facilities providing these specialized treatments.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Jan 29, 2025 Signed May 29, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed → Enrolled · 4 edits · May 29, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and prepared for signature (Enrolled version) after passing both legislative chambers, with minor formatting cleanup and the addition of a new section protecting patient heirs from debt liability upon death. The core policy content regarding access to individualized investigational treatments remains substantively unchanged from the Engrossed version.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; this is a procedural transition from Engrossed to Enrolled status.

REQUIREMENT

Added Section 491.055, which protects a patient's heirs from being held liable for outstanding debt related to the treatment if the patient dies while receiving it.

TIMELINE

Added Section 491.056, which states the bill takes effect on September 1, 2025.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft formatting artifacts and page numbers from the text, and added standard enrolled bill certification language including Senate and House vote counts and Governor approval signature lines.

ENFORCEMENT

Added Section 491.057, which prohibits state officers or employees from blocking a patient's access to approved individualized investigational treatments, with an exception for medical advice.

Introduced → Engrossed · 10 edits · Apr 10, 2025

MAJOR

The bill was reformatted and reorganized from a draft version to an engrossed version, with significant additions including new sections on debt liability, private cause of action protections, prohibited state interference, health coverage rules, and provider protections. These additions clarify patient financial responsibilities, limit liability for manufacturers and providers, and establish protections against state interference while maintaining that coverage is optional for health plans.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include additional subsections covering health coverage, costs, services, and healthcare provider protections that were not present in the original draft.

REQUIREMENT

New section 491.055 prohibits holding a patient's heirs liable for treatment costs if the patient dies during treatment.

New section 491.103 exempts hospitals from being required to provide new services unless they approve them.

ENFORCEMENT

New section 491.056 prevents private lawsuits against manufacturers or providers if they acted in good faith and with reasonable care.

New section 491.057 prohibits state officials from blocking patient access to approved treatments, though it allows medical professionals to provide contrary advice.

New section 491.151 prevents licensing boards from penalizing providers who recommend these treatments to eligible patients.

New section 491.151 also prevents the Health and Human Services Commission from penalizing providers for Medicaid participation based on treatment recommendations.

FISCAL

New section 491.101 clarifies that the bill does not affect existing insurance coverage requirements under state law.

New section 491.102 states that health plans may but are not required to cover costs for individualized investigational treatments.

New section 491.104 states that governmental agencies are not responsible for costs associated with these treatments.

TIMELINE

Added effective date of September 1, 2025 in section 2.

Floor votes · House May 20, 2025

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 29, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor

executive

May 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

Signed in the House

lower

May 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

Signed in the Senate

upper

May 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

House passage reported

upper

May 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Corrected committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

Apr 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)

lower

Apr 17, 2025

Committee

Referred to Public Health

lower

Apr 17, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

Apr 14, 2025

Introduced

Received from the Senate

lower

Apr 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendments

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

Mar 18, 2025

Upper · Passed

Left pending in committee

upper

Mar 18, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Committee

Referred to Health & Human Services

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors