The following information was obtained from the February 15 edition of the Texas Register:
Open Meeting
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) will hold public hearings on proposed Medicaid payment rates for various procedure codes on February 29, 2008, at 1:30 p.m., in the Lone Star Conference Room of the Health and Human Services Commission, Braker Center, Building H, located at 11209 Metric Blvd, Austin, Texas.
For more information about the hearing and where to send written comments, see the relevant section of the Texas Register.
Proposed Rules
HHSC has proposed to repeal §355.454, Frequency of Reporting Costs, and proposed to amend §355.457, Fiscal Accountability. The changes would eliminate unnecessary language and update procedures. For more information, see the relevant section of the Texas Register.
The Texas Board of Nursing proposes to repeal §217.19 (Incident-Based Nursing Peer Review), and §217.20 (Safe Harbor Peer Review for Nurses). The Board voted to withdraw proposed new rules based on comments about the rules. For more information, see the relevant section of the Texas Register.
The board also proposes to amend 22 Texas Administrative Code §223.1, concerning Fees. The fee for FBI background and criminal history checks was reduced from $24 to $19.25, for an interim period. For more information, see the relevant section of the Texas Register.
Adopted Rules
The Texas Board of Nursing has adopted amendments to: 1) 22 Texas Administrative Code §214.2, concerning Definitions relating to Vocational Nursing Education; and 2) 22 Texas Administrative Code §215.2, concerning Definitions; §215.3, concerning Program Development, Expansion, and Closure; and §215.4, concerning Approval, relating to Professional Nursing Education. The board also adopted the repeal of §217.13, concerning Peer Assistance Programs.
See the relevant section of the Texas Register for information about changes to all three sections.