Relating to the establishment of the case assistance affiliate program to provide certain assistance to Medicaid recipients and child health plan program enrollees.

HB 3981 establishes a statewide "case assistance affiliate program" to help Medicaid recipients and child health plan program enrollees navigate benefits. It allows managed care organizations (private health plans) participating in these programs to become "case assistance affiliates," providing certified staff to offer application/renewal help and benefit management services. The program requires the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to create training and certification standards for program managers and case assistants. This directly affects current Medicaid and child health program participants by adding structured support within existing enrollment systems, without changing eligibility or benefit levels. The bill focuses on improving access to assistance through existing managed care infrastructure.