89th LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
Texas nursing facilities do not have the privilege of shutting down, even on holidays. Our professionals care for the most frail and elderly Texans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The regulatory environment in which Texas long-term care professionals operate can pose very serious obstacles for our workforce and the vulnerable residents that the employees serve.
The following are the THCA Legislative Priorities for the 2025 Session.
HB 4670 | SB 2269 – REFORMING IDR & ENDING DUPLICATIVE PENALTIES
THCA seeks to reform the informal dispute resolution (IDR) process to ensure the Michigan Peer Review Organization (MPRO) decisions would be binding on the Health & Human Services Commission (HHSC).
Additionally, HHSC can currently impose administrative penalties at the same time as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are imposing civil monetary penalties. These provisions should be revised to prevent this kind of “double dipping.”
Both of these items are recommendations from HHSC’s Long Term Care Facilities Council (LTCFC).
HB 3902 | SB 2578 – STREAMLINING CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP
The change of ownership (CHOW) process for nursing facilities used to take approximately 90 days, and now it takes almost 9 months. THCA is pushing for adjustments to streamline this process. Significant delays cause serious Medicaid cashflow problems. This reform was also a recommendation of the LTCFC.
HB 3910 – CONFIRMING PROVIDER AT-RISK QUALIFIED ELIGIBILITY
Potential Medicaid beneficiaries should be presumed to be eligible, so long as a nursing facility agrees to reimburse HHSC in the event that an applicant is ultimately found to be ineligible. This is another recommendation by the LTCFC.
THCA supports increasing Medicaid eligibility case workers, also as requested by HHSC, and streamlining the enrollment process so that it is less cumbersome for beneficiaries over 65 years of age.
ESTABLISHING PILOT FOR BEHAVIORALLY COMPLEX INDIVIDUALS
THCA supports funding to provide an add-on to the daily rate for nursing facilities to care for behaviorally complex individuals in Texas Medicaid. The American Health Care Association (AHCA) has committed to fully support our efforts to develop this program. AHCA and THCA are partnering with Behavioral Health Solutions (BHS) to provide guidance on what has been successful in other states.
CHAMPIONS FOR LONG-TERM CARE RESIDENTS AND PROVIDERS
- INCREASED STAFFING
- HIGH QUALITY OF CARE
- RESPONSIBLE FUNDING
THCA IS FIGHTING TO PREVENT MASS CLOSURES OF FACILITIES DUE TO FEDERAL MANDATE
The Biden Administration announced in April 2024 that facilities would be required to maintain blanket rigid staffing ratios, providing 3.48 hours of care per resident per day. There are not enough nurses in Texas to fulfill these onerous requirements.
In May 2024, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) filed suit, joined by THCA, HMG (The Woodlands), Booker County Hospital, Arbrook Plaza (Arlington), and Harbor Lakes Nursing & Rehab Center (Granbury).
The Texas Office of the Attorney General filed suit in August, citing the need to hire over 10,000 nurses overnight to comply with the new rules and highlighting the particular threat they pose to rural facilities.
The Trump Administration has signaled that repealing this restrictive rule is one of their early priorities.
CONSEQUENCES
- $725 MILLION – Cost to Texas facilities.
- OVER ⅔ – Do not meet requirements.
- 12,705 – Texas caregivers needed.
THCA WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT ANY FEDERAL OVERREACH THAT THREATENS CARE IN TEXAS