— DADS updated the following information on the DADS Nursing Services web page.
— CMS staff clarified that contact precautions for influenza do NOT warrant coding in Item O0100M on the MDS.
— The State Supported Living Centers division is inviting comments on draft revised Policy #007, Psychiatry Services. Send your comments to Eric Moorad, Policy/Rules Coordinator, at eric.moorad@dads.state.tx.us or via fax at 512-438-4605 by close of business Friday, March 15, 2013.
See the news page for more information about these and other alerts.
It looks like Governor Rick Perry is the last man standing among the larger states in the Medicaid expansion debate. The Texas Tribune reports that one-time expansion proponent Governor Rick Scott of Florida announced that his state will expand Medicaid to implement the Affordable Care Act. An excerpt:
In a statement on Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry reiterated his stance on the expansion, saying it would be “irresponsible to add more Texans and dump more taxpayer dollars into an unsustainable system.”
…
What would Texas want out of those negotiations? It could be getting Medicaid money sent in a block grant that the state would use as it chooses. The federal government has so far not been interested in allowing that approach.[State Sen. Jane] Nelson says block grants aren’t a requirement and that there are other ways Texas could tailor its expansion.
“Co-pays, for example, to make sure people have some skin in the game,” she said. “Making sure that our emergency rooms get unclogged. There are a lot of things.”
