| (a) The Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) may
petition a court of competent jurisdiction for the involuntary appointment
of a trustee to operate a facility if one or more of the following
conditions exist:
(1) the facility is operating without a license;
(2) the facility's license has been suspended or revoked;
(3) license suspension or revocation procedures against
a facility are pending and an imminent threat to the health and safety
of the residents exists;
(4) an emergency exists that presents an immediate
threat to the health and safety of the residents; and/or
(5) the facility is closing (whether voluntarily or
through an emergency closure order) and arrangements for relocation
of the residents to other licensed institutions have not been made
before closure.
(b) A trustee appointed under this section is entitled
to a reasonable fee as determined by the court, to be paid from the
Nursing and Convalescent Home Trust Fund, unless the trustee is placed
in a veterans home. When a trustee is placed in a veterans home (as
defined in Natural Resources Code, §164.002), the Veterans Land
Board pays the trustee's fee.
(c) The trustee may use the emergency assistance funds
in the trust fund only to alleviate an immediate threat to the health
and safety of the residents, through such disbursements as payments
for food; medication; sanitation services; minor repairs; supplies
necessary for personal hygiene; or services necessary for the personal
care, health, and safety of the residents.
(d) Before emergency assistance funds may be dispersed,
a court order must be entered authorizing DHS to disburse emergency
assistance funds to the facility.
(e) A facility that receives emergency assistance funds
under this section must reimburse DHS for the amounts received not
later that one year after the date on which the funds were received
by the trustee. The owner of the facility at the time the trustee
was appointed is responsible for the reimbursement and must pay interest
from the date the funds were disbursed on the amount outstanding at
a rate equal to the rate of interest determined under Texas Civil
Statutes, Article 5069-1.05, to be applicable to judgments rendered
during the month in which the money was disbursed to the facility.
DHS will deposit the reimbursement and the interest received under
this subsection to the credit of the Nursing and Convalescent Home
Trust Fund. If the funds are not repaid within the year, DHS may determine
that the facility is not eligible for a Medicaid contract.
(f) Any amount remaining due at the end of one year
becomes delinquent and will be referred to the attorney general.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §554.2116 adopted to be effective May 1, 1995, 20 TexReg 2054; amended to be effective September 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 6939; transferred effective January 15, 2021, as published in the Texas Register December 11, 2020, 45 TexReg 8871 |
