78R14948 KLA-D
By: Wohlgemuth H.B. No. 3519
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3519:
By: Wohlgemuth C.S.H.B. No. 3519
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to health and human services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 531.021, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
(c) In adopting rules and standards required by Subsection
(b)(2), the commission may provide for payment of fees, charges,
and rates in accordance with:
(1) formulas, procedures, or methodologies prescribed
by the commission's rules;
(2) applicable state or federal law, policies, rules,
regulations, or guidelines;
(3) economic conditions that substantially and
materially affect provider participation in the Medicaid program,
as determined by the commissioner; or
(4) available levels of appropriated state and federal
funds.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of Chapter 32,
Human Resources Code, Chapter 533, or this chapter, the commission
may adjust the fees, charges, and rates paid to Medicaid providers
as necessary to achieve the objectives of the Medicaid program in a
manner consistent with the considerations described by Subsection
(c).
SECTION 2. (a) Section 252.202(a), Health and Safety Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) A quality assurance fee is imposed on each facility for
which a license fee must be paid under Section 252.034, [and] on
each facility owned by a community mental health and mental
retardation center, as described by Subchapter A, Chapter 534, and
on each facility owned by the Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation. The fee:
(1) is an amount established under Subsection (b)
multiplied by the number of patient days as determined in
accordance with Section 252.203;
(2) is payable monthly; and
(3) is in addition to other fees imposed under this
chapter.
(b) Not later than August 31, 2003, each facility owned by
the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation shall
pay the quality assurance fee imposed by Section 252.202, Health
and Safety Code, as amended by this section, for patient days
occurring between September 1, 2002, and July 31, 2003.
SECTION 3. Section 252.203, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 252.203. PATIENT DAYS. For each calendar day, a
facility shall determine the number of patient days by adding the
following:
(1) the number of patients occupying a facility bed
immediately before midnight of that day; and
(2) [the number of beds that are on hold on that day
and that have been placed on hold for a period not to exceed three
consecutive calendar days during which a patient is in a hospital;
and
[(3)] the number of beds that are on hold on that day
and that have been placed on hold for a period not to exceed three
consecutive calendar days during which a patient is on therapeutic
[home] leave.
SECTION 4. Section 252.204(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Each facility shall:
(1) not later than the 20th [10th] day after the last
day of a month file a report with the Health and Human Services
Commission or the department, as appropriate, stating the total
patient days for the month; and
(2) not later than the 30th day after the last day of
the month pay the quality assurance fee.
SECTION 5. (a) Sections 252.207(a) and (c), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Subject to legislative appropriation and state and
federal law, the [The] Health and Human Services Commission may
[shall] use money in the quality assurance fund, together with any
federal money available to match that money[, to]:
(1) to offset [allowable] expenses incurred to
administer the quality assurance fee under this chapter [under the
Medicaid program]; [or]
(2) to increase reimbursement rates paid under the
Medicaid program to facilities or waiver programs for persons with
mental retardation operated in accordance with 42 U.S.C. Section
1396n(c) and its subsequent amendments; or
(3) for any other health and human services purpose
approved by the governor and Legislative Budget Board[, subject to
Section 252.206(d)].
(c) If money in the quality assurance fund is used to
increase a reimbursement rate in the Medicaid program, the [The]
Health and Human Services Commission shall ensure that the
reimbursement methodology used to set that rate [formula devised
under Subsection (b)] provides incentives to increase direct care
staffing and direct care wages and benefits.
(b) Section 252.207(b), Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 6. (a) Section 31.032(d), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) In determining whether an applicant is eligible for
assistance, the department shall exclude from the applicant's
available resources:
(1) $1,000 [$2,000] for the applicant's household,
including a household in which there is [or $3,000 if there is] a
person with a disability or a person who is at least 60 years of age
[in the applicant's household]; and
(2) the fair market value of the applicant's ownership
interest in a motor vehicle, but not more than the amount determined
according to the following schedule:
(A) $4,550 on or after September 1, 1995, but
before October 1, 1995;
(B) $4,600 on or after October 1, 1995, but
before October 1, 1996;
(C) $5,000 on or after October 1, 1996, but
before October 1, 1997; and
(D) $5,000 plus or minus an amount to be
determined annually beginning on October 1, 1997, to reflect
changes in the new car component of the Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(b) Section 31.032(d), Human Resources Code, as amended by
this section, applies to a person receiving financial assistance on
or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of the date on
which eligibility for financial assistance was determined.
SECTION 7. (a) Section 32.024(w), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(w) The department shall set a personal needs allowance of
not less than $45 [$60] a month for a resident of a convalescent or
nursing home or related institution licensed under Chapter 242,
Health and Safety Code, personal care facility, ICF-MR facility, or
other similar long-term care facility who receives medical
assistance. The department may send the personal needs allowance
directly to a resident who receives Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) (42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.). This subsection does not
apply to a resident who is participating in a medical assistance
waiver program administered by the department.
(b) Section 32.024(w), Human Resources Code, as amended by
this section, applies only to a personal needs allowance paid on or
after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 8. Notwithstanding any other statute of this state,
each health and human services agency, as defined by Section
531.001, Government Code, is authorized to reduce expenditures by:
(1) consolidating any reports or publications the
agency is required to make and filing or delivering any of those
reports or publications exclusively by electronic means;
(2) extending the effective period of any license,
permit, or registration the agency grants or administers through a
regulatory board or other agency that is under the jurisdiction of
the health and human services agency or administratively attached
to the health and human services agency; and
(3) providing that any communication between the
agency and another person and any document required to be delivered
to or by the agency, including any application, notice, billing
statement, receipt, or certificate, may be made or delivered by
electronic mail or through the Internet.
SECTION 9. (a) Sections 32.024(i) and 32.027(b) and (e),
Human Resources Code, are repealed.
(b) The repeal by this Act of Sections 32.024(i) and
32.027(b) and (e), Human Resources Code, does not affect the
provision of services under the medical assistance program to
children in accordance with the requirements of federal law.
SECTION 10. If before implementing any provision of this
Act a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2003.