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Texas Register Updates: HCS, TxHmL, Board of Nursing

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The following information was obtained from the February 5 issue of the Texas Register:

Public Hearing and Notices

  • HHSC will hold a public hearing on February 23, 2010, at 1:30 p.m., to receive public comment on proposed requisition fees that will provide payments to providers for the cost of acquiring dental services for consumers in the HCS and TxHmL waiver programs.

  • Through an amendment, HHSC will extend a consultant services contract to assist Texas in providing on-site instruction in HL7 Laboratory Data Exchange and Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes. HHSC will increase the contract by $29,000, unless a better offer comes through.

  • HHSC intends to submit to CMS an amendment to the TxHmL waiver, which would revise the projections of participants and expenditures, change the reimbursement methodology for provider payment rates, amend the annual cost limit for waiver services to allow for the rate changes for waiver services, and change the current 95-day billing cycle to a 12-month billing cycle to be consistent with the state’s other long term services and support program.

    For details about the notices, see the relevant section of the Texas Register and scroll down for each entry.

    • Adopted Rules

  • HHSC adopted the repeal of Chapter 352, §§352.1 – 352.9, concerning Quality Assurance Fee, so that the rules can be transferred from HHSC agency rules to DADS agency rules.

    “These QAF rules do not determine payment rates, but instead describe the assessment and collection of the QAF, which is the responsibility of DADS. Therefore, these rules will be transferred to DADS. DADS is adopting the QAF rules in Title 40, Part 1, Chapter 11 simultaneously with this repeal.” See the relevant section of the Texas Register for more information.

  • The Board of Nursing adopted amendments to Chapter 222, §§222.1 – 222.12, concerning Advanced Practice Registered Nurses With Prescriptive Authority. The amendments are necessary to clarify changes made to the Medical Practice Act by Senate Bill and provide guidance to advanced practice registered nurses who exercise prescriptive authority in this state. For details, see the relevant section of the Texas Register.

  • HHSC adopted new §11.1, concerning purpose of chapter; §11.2, concerning definitions; §11.3, concerning quality assurance fee determination methodology; §11.4, concerning required reports; §11.5, concerning payment and collection of quality assurance fee; §11.6, concerning enforcement; §11.7, concerning penalty; §11.8, concerning informal review; and §11.9, concerning appeal of an informal review decision, in new Chapter 11, concerning Quality Assurance Fee.

    These sections are adopted to transfer the rules related to the quality assurance fee from the HHSC rule base in TAC Title 1, Part 15, to the DADS rule base in TAC, Title 40, Part 1. See the relevant section of the Texas Register for more information.