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.
January 11, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Rules for the Comprehensive Hospital Increase Reimbursement Program
- This meeting will be webcast: Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Rules for the Texas Incentives for Physicians and Professional Services Program
January 12, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Nursing Facility Payment Methodology Advisory Committee (NF-PMAC) Agenda
- Intellectual and Developmental Disability System Redesign Advisory Committee Day Habilitation and Employment Services Subcommittee Agenda
January 13, 2021
- Behavioral Health Advisory Committee Children and Youth Behavioral Health Subcommittee (BHAC CYBH) Agenda
- This meeting will be webcast: Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) Advisory Committee Agenda
January 15, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Proposed metrics and associated performance requirements for QIPP SFY 2022
January 21, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Provider Finance Department Stakeholder Engagement Meetings Notice – Potential Medicaid Payment Rates
January 22, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Drug Utilization Review Board (DURB) Agenda
January 25, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Texas Brain Injury Advisory Council (TBIAC) Agenda
January 26, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Advisory Council (PCIAC) Agenda
- This meeting will be webcast: Mental Health Condition and Substance Use Disorder (MHCSUD) Parity Workgroup Agenda
January 27, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Joint Committee on Access and Forensic Services (JCAFS) Agenda
January 29, 2021
- Governor’s EMS and Trauma Advisory Council (GETAC) – Injury Prevention and Public Education Committee Meeting Agenda
- This meeting will be webcast: Texas HIV Medication Program Advisory Committee (THMP-MAC) Agenda
February 5, 2021
- This meeting will be webcast: Proposed Medicaid Payment Rates for the 2021 Annual Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Updates
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To let the public know about a rulemaking action – such as new, amended or repealed rules – HHS publishes a notice in the Texas Register, a publication of the Texas Secretary of State.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 925, Research Involving Health and Human Services Commission Services | #20R104 | HHSC Health and Specialty Care System | 1/11/21 | 1/25/21 |
| Title 26, Chapter 304, Diagnostic Assessment | #20R124 | Lisa Habbit | 1/8/21 | 1/22/21 |
| Title 25, Chapter 295, Subchapter I, Texas Environmental Lead Reduction | #21R034 | DSHS Environmental Hazards Branch | 1/4/21 | 1/19/21 |
| Title 26, Chapter 551, Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with an Intellectual Disability or Related Conditions | #19R072 | HHS Policy, Rules and Training | 1/4/21 | 1/19/21 |
2021 Schedule
As HHSC has received a waiver to Rate Hearing Requirements, there will not be a rate hearing conducted on many of these rates.
| 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.pdfNotice Of Proposed Prospective Reimbursement For Rural Hospitals Participating In Medicaid Attachment 09-01-2021-prospective-reimbursement-rural-hospitals-in-medicaid-attch-rate-vis.pdf | |
| 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.pdfNotice of Proposed Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Attachments 03-2021-policy-hcpcs-att.zip | |
| Biennial Calendar Fee Review | March 01, 2021 | Biennial Calendar Fee Review 03-2021-biennialcalendarfeereview.pdfBiennial Calendar Fee Review Attachments 03-2021-biennialcalendarfeereview-att.zip | |
| Notice of Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Quarterly Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Updates Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) High Throughput Testing | January 01, 2021 | Notice of Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Quarterly Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Updates Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) High Throughput Testing 01-01-2021-notice-adjfees-hcpcs-covid19-highthrouhput-testing.pdf | |
| Notice of Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Quarterly Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Updates Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | January 01, 2021 | Notice of Adjustments to Fees, Rates or Charges for Quarterly Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Updates Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) 01-01-2021-notice-adjfeesratescharges-hcpcs-covid19.pdf |
Register for the January 12 Webinar to Learn About the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program Requirements for 2021. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, January 12 at 1:00 p.m. ET to provide information on Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program requirements for 2021.
During this webinar, CMS subject matter experts will discuss the following:
- Electronic health record (EHR) reporting requirements
- 2015 Edition Certified EHR Technology requirements
- Objectives, measures, and scoring
- Electronic clinical quality measure changes
- Important dates and additional resources
CMS subject matter experts will answer questions at the end of the webinar as time permits.
Webinar Details
- Title: 2021 Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program Webinar
- Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2021
- Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET
- Registration link: https://app.webinar.net/lAoPyL0yNE9
For More Information
For more information, please visit the Promoting Interoperability Programs website or email CMSQualityTeam@ketchum.com.
CMS Innovation Center Director, Brad Smith, 2020 Year-In-Review. This past year, 2020, marked the tenth anniversary of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and it proved to be a very important year both for the Innovation Center and the broader value-based care movement. Read more from CMS Deputy Administrator and CMMI Director, Brad Smith’s Year-in-Review.
Cures Act EVV: Guidance to Ensure On-Time Payment to CDS Employees for Services Done on and After Jan. 1. HHSC has issued Guidance to Ensure CDS Employees are Paid Timely for Services Delivered on and After Jan. 1 (PDF). This document provides information for Consumer Directed Services employers and Financial Management Services Agencies to ensure on-time payments to CDS employees for delivering EVV-required services on and after Jan. 1. All visits for an EVV-required service provided on and after Jan. 1 must be documented in the EVV system.
Email EVV policy questions to HHSC EVV.
Email CDS policy questions to HHSC CDS Policy.
Texas Launches Opioid Misuse Prevention Website to Fight Addiction, Overdoses. Texas Health and Human Services is launching a new website featuring videos, the latest information and helpful resources to promote Texas Targeted Opioid Response (TTOR), which is a statewide public health effort to fight against opioid addiction and overdose.
The new website, TXopioidresponse.org, is available in English and Spanish and provides tips for safe opioid use, as well as information about the dangers of misusing prescription opioid medications.
Every day, 128 people in the United States die after an overdose involving either prescription or illicit opioids, such as heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationwide, nearly 80% of people who use heroin report misusing prescription opioids beforehand. Information available on TXopioidresponse.org promotes understanding of what opioid medications are, how they affect the body, how misuse can lead to dangerous side effects and how to safely manage pain.
To learn more, visit TXOpioidResponse.org.
Read the full release.
Children Waiting for Adoption. See the latest children who were added to or updated in the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE).