The following information was obtained from the October 4 issue of the Texas Register.
Public Hearing and Notices
HHSC will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, October 22, 2013, at 9 a.m. to receive public comment on proposed rates for hospice routine home, continuous home, inpatient respite, and general inpatient care. The hearing will be held in the Public Hearing Room, Brown Heatly Building, located at 4900 North Lamar, Austin.
HHSC intends to submit an amendment to the Texas State Plan for Medical Assistance, to ensure that the state plan language regarding this calculation accurately and completely describes the current methodology used in the calculation of the Hospital-Specific Limit.
HHSC proposed amendments to modify the methodology for supplemental payments for non-state government-owned NFs. See the Texas Register for more information about each entry.
Proposed Rules
HHSC proposed to amend the title and content of §371.200, Inpatient Hospital Utilization Review Program; §371.201, Case Selection Process; §371.203, Texas Medical Review Program Review Process; §371.204, Hospital Screening Criteria for Texas Medical Review Program, Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act, and LoneSTAR Select II Contract Reviews; §371.206, Denials and Recoupments for Texas Medical Review Program, Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act, and LoneSTAR Select II Contracted Hospitals; and §371.210, Inpatient Utilization Review for Hospitals Reimbursed under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) Principles of Reimbursement or LoneSTAR Select II Contracting Program. An excerpt:
HHSC intends that a violation committed before the effective date of the proposal be governed by the prior rules and provisions of §§371.200, 371.201, 371.203, 371.204, 371.206, and 371.210 that were in effect when the violation was committed, and that the amended provisions of §§371.200, 371.201, 371.203, 371.204, 371.206, and 371.210 continue in effect for this purpose. HHSC does not intend for the amendments of the rules to affect the prior operation of the rules; any prior actions taken under the rules; any validation, cure, right, privilege, obligation, or liability previously acquired, accrued, accorded, or incurred under the rules; any violation of the rules; or any penalty, forfeiture, or punishment incurred under the rules before their amendment; or any review, proceeding, or action concerning any privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture, or punishment. HHSC additionally intends that any review, proceeding, or action may be instituted, continued, or enforced, and the review or action imposed, as if the rules had not been amended.
Adopted Rules
The Texas Board of Nursing adopted amendments to §211.7, Executive Director, which authorize the board’s Executive Director to approve and accept certain Board Orders on behalf of the board without board ratification.
The board adopted amendments to §213.3, Pleading, to clarify the board’s existing procedural requirements relating to licensure and eligibility matters. For more information about each entry, see the Texas Register.