From HHSC: While every effort has been made to offer an accurate and current listing of meeting agendas and events on this calendar, the information has been compiled from a variety of sources and is subject to change without notice to the user.
December 14, 2020
- This meeting will be webcast: Chronic Kidney Disease Task Force (CKDTF) Agenda
- STAR+PLUS Pilot Program Workgroup (SPPPW) Quality Subcommittee Agenda
- This meeting will be webcast: Governor’s EMS and Trauma Advisory Council (GETAC) Agenda
December 15, 2020
- This meeting will be webcast: Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) Advisory Committee Agenda
- This meeting will be webcast: Long-term Care Facilities Council (LTCFC) Agenda
December 16, 2020
- This meeting will be webcast: STAR+PLUS Pilot Program Workgroup (SPPPW) Agenda
- Trauma Systems Committee Meeting of the Governor’s EMS and Trauma Advisory Council (GETAC) Agenda
December 22, 2020
- This meeting will be webcast: Toxic Substances Coordinating Committee (TSCC) Agenda
Proposed Rules
Formal Comments via the Texas Register
To let the public know about a rulemaking action – such as new, amended or repealed rules – HHS publishes a notice in the Texas Register, a publication of the Texas Secretary of State. Interested parties then can review and comment on the proposed rule. The Secretary of State publishes a new issue of the Texas Register each Friday.
The Administrative Procedure Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 2001) requires the notice published in the Texas Register to include a brief explanation of the proposed rule and a request for comments from any interested person. The notice also includes instructions for submitting comments regarding the rule to the agency, including the date by which comments must be submitted. Agencies must give interested persons “a reasonable opportunity” to submit comments. The public comment period begins on the day after the notice of a proposed rule is published in the Texas Register and lasts for a minimum of 30 calendar days.
Below is a list of proposed rules that have been published in the Texas Register. The proposed rules that are published in the Texas Register are open for public comment until the end of the comment period.
Draft Rules Informal Comments
Informal opportunities to comment occur before a rule is published in the Texas Register. HHS staff may solicit informal public and stakeholder input by:
- inviting stakeholders to submit comments on potential rule changes during rule development.
- sharing a draft rule with stakeholders for review.
- using existing HHS advisory committees to comment on rules.
| Title | Project No. | Contact | Comment Start Date | Comment End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title 26, Chapter 507, End Stage Renal Disease Facilities | #19R008 | HHS Policy, Rules and Training | 12/2/20 | 12/16/20 |
2021 Consideration Schedule
| Title | Proposed Effective Date | Packet Updated | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice Of Proposed Prospective Reimbursement For Rural Hospitals Participating In Medicaid | September 01, 2021 | Notice Of Proposed Prospective Reimbursement For Rural Hospitals Participating In Medicaid 09-01-2021-prospective-reimbursement-rural-hospitals-in-medicaid.pdf Notice of Proposed Prospective Reimbursement For Rural Hospitals Participating In Medicaid Attachment | |
| Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Wound Care | March 01, 2021 | Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Wound Care 03-2021-policy-woundcare.pdf | |
| Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Telemonitoring Update | March 01, 2021 | Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Telemonitoring Update 03-2021-policy-telemonitoring.pdf | |
| Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Stereotactic Radiosurgery | March 01, 2021 | Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Stereotactic Radiosurgery 03-2021-policy-stereotactic-radiosurgery.pdf | |
| Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Nutritional (Enteral) Products, Supplies, and Equipment – Home Health & CCP: Immobilized Lipase Cartridge | March 01, 2021 | Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Nutritional (Enteral) Products, Supplies, and Equipment – Home Health & CCP: Immobilized Lipase Cartridge 03-2021-policy-nutrional-prod-sup-equip.pdf | |
| Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis | March 01, 2021 | Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis 03-2021-policy-dbt.pdf | |
| Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Colorectal Cancer Screening Policy | March 01, 2021 | Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Colorectal Cancer Screening Policy 03-2021-policy-colorectal-cancer-screen.pdf | |
| Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) | March 01, 2021 | Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) 03-2021-policy-hcpcs.pdf Notice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Attachments | |
| Biennial Calendar Fee Review | March 01, 2021 | Biennial Calendar Fee Review 03-2021-biennialcalendarfeereview.pdf Biennial Calendar Fee Review Attachments |
Updated MMSEA Section 111 Group Health Plan (GHP) User Guide Now Available. The MMSEA Section 111 GHP User Guide version 6.0 has been posted to the GHP User Guide page on CMS.gov. Refer to Chapter 1-1 for a summary of updates.
Now Available: Updated 2021 CMS QRDA III Implementation Guide for Eligible Professionals and Eligible Clinicians following the publication of the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released an update to the 2021 CMS Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category III Implementation Guide (IG) for Eligible Clinicians and Eligible Professionals to support Calendar Year (CY) 2021 reporting. The update includes the list of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) finalized by CMS for the CY 2021 Performance Period based on the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule released on December 1, 2020. It also includes information for Improvement Activity Identifiers, Promoting Interoperability Objectives and Measures, and Promoting Interoperability Attestation Statement Identifiers finalized by CMS for the CY 2021 Performance Period based on the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
The updated 2021 CMS QRDA III IG outlines requirements for eligible clinicians and eligible professionals to report eCQMs, Improvement Activities, and Promoting Interoperability measures for the CY 2021 performance period for these programs:
- Quality Payment Program: Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs)
- Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+)
- Primary Care First (PCF)
- Medicaid Promoting Interoperability (PI)
Changes to the 2021 CMS QRDA III IG:
- Updates to Table 14: universally unique identifier (UUID) List for MIPS CY 2021 Performance Period eCQM Specifications for Eligible Professionals and Eligible Clinicians
- Updates to Table 15: Improvement Activities Identifiers for the MIPS CY 2021 Performance Period.
- Updates to Table 16: 2021 Promoting Interoperability Objectives and Measures Identifiers
- Updates to Table 17: Promoting Interoperability Attestation Statements Identifiers
Additional QRDA-Related Resources:
Additional QRDA-related resources, as well as current and past implementation guides, are found on the Electronic Clinical Quality Improvement (eCQI) Resource Center QRDA page.
For questions related to this guidance, the QRDA IGs, Schematrons, or Sample Files, visit the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Project Tracking System (Jira) QRDA project.
For questions related to Quality Payment Program/MIPS data submissions visit the Quality Payment Program website, contact by phone 1-866-288-8292, or email QPP@cms.hhs.gov.
Updated Voluntary Data Sharing Agreement (VDSA) User Guides Now Available. Updated Voluntary Data Sharing Agreement and Employer Voluntary Data Sharing Agreement (Non-MSP) user guides have been posted to the Download section of the Voluntary Data Sharing Agreement page on CMS.gov. Refer to Chapter 1 of the guides for a summary of updates.
EVV Portal and Training Updates for December. On Dec. 10, Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership made improvements to the Electronic Visit Verification Portal and updated the related training materials.
For more information, read the TMHP article EVV Portal Improvements and Training Updates.
Email TMHP with questions about these updates.
OIG Update. Welcome to OIG Update – a monthly newsletter from the Texas Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG). This newsletter highlights some of the OIG’s recent efforts in detecting, preventing and deterring fraud, waste and abuse in the delivery of Texas health and human services programs. Within this email, you’ll find hyperlinks to recent agency news.
Fraud alert for health care providers. The federal government is warning health care providers to take action to prevent ransomware attacks. Learn how to protect yourself on the OIG website.
OIG inspects state supported living center. An OIG inspection focused on the hiring and training processes at a Texas Health and Human Services facility for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Read the results and recommendations.
OIG audits MCO nursing facility payments. The OIG audited a Texas managed care organization (MCO) as a follow-up to complaints of nursing facility payments being delayed by more than 90 days and unprocessed retroactive adjustments. Read the full report.
Children Waiting for Adoption. See the latest children who were added to or updated in the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE).