By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1449
(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2011; March 22, 2011, read
first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
May 6, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9,
Nays 0; May 6, 2011, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an alternative method of satisfying certain licensing
and program participation requirements for chemical dependency
treatment facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (b), Section 464.005, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The Department of State Health Services [commission]
may require an inspection before renewing a license, unless the
applicant submits an accreditation review from the Commission on
Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities or the Joint Commission
in accordance with Section 464.0055.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 464, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 464.0055 to read as follows:
Sec. 464.0055. ACCREDITATION REVIEW TO SATISFY INSPECTION
OR CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Accreditation commission" means the Commission
on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities or the Joint
Commission.
(2) "Department" means the Department of State Health
Services.
(b) The department shall accept an annual accreditation
review from an accreditation commission for a treatment facility
instead of an inspection for renewal of a license under Section
464.005 and in satisfaction of the requirements for certification
by the department for participation in the medical assistance
program under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, and the federal
Medicare program, but only if:
(1) the treatment facility is accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities under its
behavioral health standards or by the Joint Commission under its
behavioral health care standards;
(2) the accreditation commission maintains an annual
inspection or review program that, for each treatment facility,
meets the department's applicable minimum standards;
(3) the accreditation commission conducts an annual
on-site inspection or review of the treatment facility;
(4) the treatment facility submits to the department a
copy of its annual accreditation review from the accreditation
commission in addition to the application, fee, and any report
required for renewal of a license or for certification, as
applicable; and
(5) the department has:
(A) determined whether a waiver or authorization
from a federal agency is necessary under federal law, including for
federal funding purposes, before the department accepts an annual
accreditation review from the accreditation commission:
(i) instead of an inspection for license
renewal purposes;
(ii) as satisfying the requirements for
certification by the department for participation in the medical
assistance program; or
(iii) as satisfying the requirements for
certification by the department for participation in the federal
Medicare program; and
(B) obtained any necessary federal waivers or
authorizations.
(c) Except as specifically provided by this section, this
section does not limit the department in performing any duties and
inspections authorized by this chapter or under any contract
relating to the medical assistance program under Chapter 32, Human
Resources Code, and Titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. Sections 1395 et seq. and 1396 et seq.), including
authority to take appropriate action relating to a treatment
facility, such as closing the treatment facility.
(d) This section does not require a treatment facility to
obtain accreditation from an accreditation commission.
SECTION 3. Section 464.005, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by this Act, and Section 464.0055, Health and Safety Code,
as added by this Act, apply only to the renewal of a license to
operate a chemical dependency treatment facility that expires on or
after the effective date of this Act. A license that expires before
that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the license
expires, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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