By: Patterson, Moncrief S.C.R. No. 59 Zaffirini SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, In its report to the 74th Texas Legislature, the 1-2 Senate Health and Human Services Committee concluded that there is 1-3 a pressing need for an audit of the Medicaid program, that it may 1-4 be in the best interest of the state if nursing homes were dually 1-5 certified for Medicare and Medicaid, and that significant savings 1-6 might accrue if certain state schools and hospitals were 1-7 privatized; and 1-8 WHEREAS, A targeted audit focusing on areas not audited 1-9 regularly or previously could potentially save a substantial amount 1-10 of state revenue by helping to reduce fraud; and 1-11 WHEREAS, It is the responsibility of the federal Medicare 1-12 program to pay for the first 100 days of skilled nursing facility 1-13 care after hospital discharge, but if a facility is not dually 1-14 certified these costs are assumed by the state Medicaid program; 1-15 therefore, dual certification of facilities where appropriate to 1-16 serve both Medicare and Medicaid clients could potentially save 1-17 state revenue by allowing the federally funded program to assume 1-18 these costs; and 1-19 WHEREAS, Privatization of state school campus operations 1-20 potentially could save an estimated $14.1 million in general 1-21 revenue per fiscal year, while privatization of state hospitals 1-22 potentially could save an estimated $4.87 million in general 1-23 revenue for the 1996-1997 biennium; now, therefore, be it 1-24 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-1 hereby request the State Medicaid Office, in conjunction with the 2-2 appropriate state agencies, to develop a proposal for the purpose 2-3 and scope of a targeted audit of the Medicaid program; and, be it 2-4 further 2-5 RESOLVED, That the State Medicaid Office submit the proposal 2-6 for a program audit to the Senate Health and Human Services 2-7 Committee not later than March 1, 1995; and, be it further 2-8 RESOLVED, That the State Medicaid Office, with public input 2-9 including input from the long-term care industry and senior citizen 2-10 advocacy organizations, determine the feasibility of requiring some 2-11 Medicaid nursing homes to also certify beds for Medicare and 2-12 examine incentives to maximize the use of federal funds by ensuring 2-13 that all geographic areas of the state have sufficient Medicare 2-14 beds to meet the public need; and, be it further 2-15 RESOLVED, That the State Medicaid Office report its findings 2-16 on the feasibility of requiring dual certification of nursing 2-17 facilities to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee not 2-18 later than May 15, 1995; and, be it further 2-19 RESOLVED, That the Council on Competitive Government study 2-20 the feasibility and ramifications of privatizing state schools for 2-21 persons with mental retardation and of privatizing state hospitals 2-22 for persons with mental illness; and, be it further 2-23 RESOLVED, That the Council on Competitive Government take no 2-24 action on the results of the study, but forward its findings to the 2-25 legislature by December 1, 1996, for its consideration during the 2-26 75th Legislature; and, be it further 2-27 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies 3-1 of this resolution to the State Medicaid Office and to the Council 3-2 on Competitive Government.