By: Vowell H.B. No. 968
73R2226 CBH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the placement of certain persons in nursing facilities
1-3 and to the funding of those services.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Human Resources Code,
1-6 is amended by adding Section 32.0265 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 32.0265. NURSING FACILITY SERVICES FOR CERTAIN PERSONS.
1-8 (a) Regardless of a person's mental condition as identified by a
1-9 preadmission screening and annual resident review, the department
1-10 shall provide medical assistance to a person who resides in or is
1-11 applying for admission to a nursing facility if:
1-12 (1) the department determines that the person is
1-13 financially eligible for medical assistance; and
1-14 (2) the person's primary physician, who may be a
1-15 medical specialist, determines and documents that:
1-16 (A) it is in the person's best interest for
1-17 medical reasons to remain in or be admitted to an identified and
1-18 accepting nursing facility; and
1-19 (B) there is a medical necessity under medical
1-20 assistance eligibility guidelines for the nursing facility care.
1-21 (b) Specialized services to meet the needs of the person may
1-22 be provided in the nursing facility.
1-23 (c) The department shall ensure that a preadmission
1-24 screening and annual resident review for a child are conducted
2-1 using medical conditions, cognitive, and functional limitations,
2-2 including the exempting conditions from the level II assessment and
2-3 the conditions that allow a person to be admitted to or remain in a
2-4 nursing facility and to receive specialized services, that are
2-5 comparable to and no more stringent than those used for adults.
2-6 The department shall also ensure that the documentation for the
2-7 assessment reflects comparable information specific to the child.
2-8 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 533, Health and Safety
2-9 Code, is amended by adding Section 533.044 to read as follows:
2-10 Sec. 533.044. PAYMENT FOR ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN
2-11 CHILDREN. (a) The department shall pay for the cost of placing a
2-12 child with mental illness, mental retardation, or a related
2-13 condition in a setting that is determined to be geographically
2-14 acceptable and otherwise appropriate for the child's continued
2-15 emotional and medical needs, including medical monitoring and
2-16 intervention, if:
2-17 (1) the child is residing at a nursing facility or is
2-18 applying for admission to a nursing facility;
2-19 (2) the child's primary physician, who may be a
2-20 medical specialist, determines and documents that the child has a
2-21 medical condition that warrants care in the nursing facility;
2-22 (3) the department determines after a preadmission
2-23 screening and annual resident review that the child is not eligible
2-24 for admission or continued residence in the facility;
2-25 (4) appropriate medical support cannot be identified
2-26 in the child's own community; and
2-27 (5) an ICF-MR facility determined to be appropriate
3-1 and acceptable does not exist or is not immediately available.
3-2 (b) A determination under Subsection (a)(5) shall be made by
3-3 the child's parents or guardians and the child's primary physician,
3-4 who may be a medical specialist.
3-5 (c) The department shall consult a psychologist or
3-6 psychiatrist in determining the specialized services necessary for
3-7 a child who has identified mental health or mental retardation
3-8 needs and who is placed in an alternate treatment setting under
3-9 this section.
3-10 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-15 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-16 passage, and it is so enacted.