By Hilderbran H.B. No. 2644
74R7694 DLF-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to certification requirements for institutions that
1-3 participate as nursing facilities in the state Medicaid program.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 32.021, Human Resources Code, is amended
1-6 by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (h), (i), and (j)
1-7 to read as follows:
1-8 (d) The department may include in its contracts for the
1-9 delivery of medical assistance by nursing facilities provisions for
1-10 monetary penalties to be assessed for contract violations as
1-11 required by 42 U.S.C. Section 1396r, including without limitation
1-12 the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA), P.L. 100-203, Nursing
1-13 Home Reform Amendments of 1987, provided that the department:
1-14 (1) establish a penalties and sanctions advisory
1-15 committee of consumer advocates and long-term care providers to
1-16 help develop and monitor an appropriate system for assessing
1-17 penalties; and
1-18 (2) develop rules in accordance with Subsection (i)<,
1-19 including an administrative appeals process> to adjudicate claims
1-20 in contested cases<, in accordance with the Administrative
1-21 Procedure and Texas Register Act (Article 6252-13a, Vernon's Texas
1-22 Civil Statutes)>.
1-23 (h) The rules adopted by the department for certification of
1-24 facilities as being in compliance with the requirements for
2-1 participation in the state Medicaid program may not be different
2-2 from the standards imposed by federal law. This subsection does
2-3 not prevent the department from using any civil, administrative, or
2-4 criminal remedy authorized by state or federal law with respect to
2-5 a facility that is in violation of a certification or licensing
2-6 requirement.
2-7 (i) The rules adopted under Subsection (d)(2) must provide
2-8 for:
2-9 (1) an informal dispute resolution process that
2-10 provides for adjudication by an appropriate disinterested person in
2-11 the department's central office; and
2-12 (2) an administrative appeals process under Chapter
2-13 2001, Government Code.
2-14 (j) A finding by the department that an institution has
2-15 violated a standard for participation in the state Medicaid
2-16 program, or the assessment or payment of a monetary penalty under
2-17 this section, is not admissible as evidence in a civil action to
2-18 prove that the institution has committed a violation. This
2-19 subsection does not apply in an enforcement action or related
2-20 proceeding in which the state or an agency or political subdivision
2-21 of the state is a party.
2-22 SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 242, Health and Safety
2-23 Code, is amended by adding Section 242.070 to read as follows:
2-24 Sec. 242.070. APPLICATION OF OTHER LAW. The department may
2-25 not assess a penalty under both this subchapter and Section 32.021,
2-26 Human Resources Code, for a violation arising out of the same act
2-27 or failure to act.
3-1 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-6 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-7 passage, and it is so enacted.