| TO: | Honorable David Dewhurst , Lieutenant Governor, Senate Honorable Tom Craddick, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1830 by Zaffirini (Relating to the continuation of the quality assurance fee applicable to intermediate care facilities for persons with mental retardation. ), Conference Committee Report |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2006 | $0 |
| 2007 | $0 |
| 2008 | $0 |
| 2009 | $0 |
| 2010 | $0 |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from QUALITY ASSURANCE 5080 |
Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from New General Revenue Dedicated HCS/CLASS QAF |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | $54,368,000 | $24,462,000 |
| 2007 | $54,393,000 | $24,462,000 |
| 2008 | $54,393,000 | $24,462,000 |
| 2009 | $54,393,000 | $24,462,000 |
| 2010 | $54,393,000 | $24,462,000 |
The bill would implement a recommendation in the Legislative Budget Board's Staff Performance Report, State Government Efficiency and Operations Submitted to the 79th Legislature. Recommendation number 1 in the Expand the Use of the Long-Term Care Quality Assurance Fee report proposes continuation of the quality assurance fee currently levied on intermediate care facilities for persons with mental retardation (ICF-MR).
The bill would repeal Section 252.209 of the Health and Safety Code, which requires the 79th Legislature to review the operation and effectiveness of the subchapter relating to the application of a quality assurance fee on ICF-MRs. Under current law, the quality assurance fee expires September 1, 2005, unless continued by the 79th Legislature. The repeal of this section would continue the assessment of this quality assurance fee.
The bill would repeal the expiration of the assessment of the quality assurance fee to ICF-MRs. This repeal would result in the continuation of the collection of revenue in General Revenue-Dedicated Account 5080 - Quality Assurance.
The bill would also require the executive commissioner, by rule, to modify the quality assurance fee program to apply to certain waiver programs. The bill would require the executive commissioner to establish the fee at an amount that will produce annual revenues of not more than six percent of the gross receipts of a person from services the person provides under the waiver.
The bill would require fees collected under this section to be deposited in a waiver program quality assurance fee account, a dedicated account in the General Revenue Fund that is exempt from the application of Section 403.095, Government Code, relating to the use of dedicated revenue.
The bill would authorize money in the account, subject to legislative appropriation and state and federal law, to be appropriated only to the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) to increase reimbursement rates paid under the home and community services waiver program or the community living assistance and support services waiver program, or to offset allowable expenses under the state Medicaid program.
The bill would require DADS, subject to legislative appropriation and state and federal law, to use money from the waiver program quality assurance fee account, together with any federal money available to match money from the account, to increase reimbursement rates paid under the home and community services waiver program or the community living assistance and support services waiver program.
The bill would provide that if the ICF-MR quality assurance fee expires, provisions relating to a waiver program quality assurance fee expire on the same date.
The Comptroller of Public Accounts' (comptroller) estimate of revenues for General Revenue- Dedicated Account 5080 - Quality Assurance for the 2006-07 biennium were obtained from the Department of Aging and Disability Services' (DADS) legislative appropriations request. The comptroller's revenue estimates for fiscal years 2008 through 2010 were based on fiscal year 2007 figures.
The continuation of the quality assurance fee on ICF-MRs is assumed in the current General Appropriations Bill. Funds are appropriated from the account to DADS for ICF-MRs and state schools, contingent upon passage of legislation that would continue the assessment. Expenditure of these funds for appropriated purposes would draw matching federal funds in accordance with the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage rate.
| Source Agencies: | 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 539 Department of Aging and Disability Services
|
| LBB Staff: | JOB, CL, PP, JJ
|