The following bills (which may affect long term care providers) were recently introduced in the 82nd Legislative Session:
HB 637: Relating to certain treatment by a physical therapist.
HB 680: Relating to a physician’s response to a complaint filed with the Texas Medical Board.
Proposed Rules
HHSC proposes to amend §371.1647, concerning notice of sanction; and new §371.1709, concerning recoupment of overpayments pursuant to audit, in Chapter 371, Medicaid and Other Health and Human Services Fraud and Abuse Program Integrity. The new rule would implement 1936 of the Social Security Act to require CMS to contract with eligible entities to review and audit Medicaid claims for fraud, waste, and abuse, and the amendment to 361.1647 deals with the audit notification requirement.
See the Texas Register for more information.
HHSC proposes new §19.326, concerning safety operations, in Subchapter D, Facility Construction, and the repeal of existing §19.326; and new §19.1914, concerning emergency preparedness and response, in Subchapter T, Administration, and the repeal of existing §19.1914, in Chapter 19, Nursing Facility Requirements for Licensure and Medicaid Certification. These proposes changes addresses safety concerns that arose during recent hurricane seasons.
See the Texas Register for more information.
Adopted Rules
The Texas Medical Board adopted amendments to §164.4, concerning Board Certification, which clarify under what circumstances a physician may advertise himself or herself as “board-certified.” An excerpt:
Specifically, the amendments allow physicians to advertise that they are “board certified” only if: a) their certifying board is either the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, or is a member the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialties (BOS) or; b) if their certifying board can meet specific standards outlined in the rule. Physicians whose certifying boards are not specifically named in the rule may use the term “board certified” only if the Medical Board determines, based on an application by a physician or other entity, that these other Boards have certification requirements that are substantially similar to those of the ABMS or the BOS, including the completion of postgraduate training accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association, which includes substantial and identifiable supervised training of comprehensive scope in the specialty or subspecialty certified. In addition, the amendments permit that physicians whose certifying boards were deemed “substantially similar” by the Medical Board prior to September 1, 2010, and who themselves were certified by these other certifying boards prior to September 1, 2010, may use the term “board certified.”
See the Texas Register for more information.
