BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1469

By: Capriglione

Business & Industry

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia and is a growing public health crisis in Texas. According to the Department of State Health Services, an estimated 400,000 Texans suffer from the disease. Once the disease progresses, living at home is no longer an option for many patients and their loved ones must seek care for them in a residential care facility with supervising medical staff. Caring for these patients is challenging and more demanding than caring for other residents without Alzheimer's.

Families often struggle to find facilities that have staff adequately trained to care for patients with Alzheimer's. Many facilities call themselves "memory care" facilities, which would lead individuals to believe they are equipped to handle dementia and Alzheimer's patients. Unfortunately, the term "memory care" is simply a marketing term and holds no special requirement for patient care.

In Texas, the Health and Human Services Commission has created a special Alzheimer's certification program that requires an in-depth 16 hours of training for staff treating patients who are suffering from the disease. Currently, not all nursing home facilities and assisted living facilities employ staff who hold that certification. H.B. 1469 seeks to prohibit nursing facilities and assisted living facilities from advertising, marketing, or otherwise promoting the facility as an Alzheimer's care unit or memory care unit providing services to residents with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders unless the facility provides the services through specially trained personnel who have successfully completed a minimum of four training hours in caring for those residents.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in SECTIONS 1 and 2 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1469 amends the Health and Safety Code to prohibit a nursing facility or assisted living facility, on or after January 1, 2024, from advertising, marketing, or otherwise promoting the facility's Alzheimer's care unit or memory care unit as providing services to residents with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders unless the facility provides the services through specially trained personnel who have successfully completed a minimum of four training hours in caring for such residents as prescribed by Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) rule. The bill requires the executive commissioner of HHSC, not later than December 1, 2023, to adopt the rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.