BILL ANALYSIS
By: Brown, Betty
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Under current Texas law, nursing homes and long term care facilities are not required to notify patients of their insurance status. This legislation would require that such a health care entity notify patients and their immediate families of their insurance status by requiring an institution to provide each resident and their next of kin or guardian with a written statement on whether the institution is covered by professional health care liability insurance for a health care liability claim against the institution.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
Section 1: Amends the Health and Safety Code by adding Section 242.0425 requiring institutions to provide each resident and the resident's next of kin or guardian a written statement of an institution's health care liability insurance status in the form determined by the Texas Department of Human Services. Also requires the institution to maintain a copy of the statement in their records on the resident. The statement must be signed by the resident or their next of kin or guardian.
Section 2: Requires the Department of Aging and Disability Services to prescribe the form for the written statement by December 1, 2005. An institution is not required to provide the statement before January 1, 2006.
Section 3: Effective Date
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
Removes the section that amended Health and Safety Code Section 242.042(a) (6) changing "Texas Board of Nursing Facility Administrators" to "department", meaning the Texas Department of Health. Also removed subsection (10), which would have required institutions to post their insurance status in a form determined by the Texas Department of Health. CSHB 850 only requires that an institution provide each resident and their next of kin or guardian with a written statement of their insurance liability status and that the institution maintain a signed copy of that statement in their records.