(a) In this section, “nursing facility” means a convalescent or nursing home or related institution licensed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, that provides long-term care services, as defined by § 22.0011, Human Resources Code, to Medicaid recipients.
(b) If feasible, the executive commissioner by rule may establish an incentive payment program for nursing facilities that choose to participate. The program must be designed to improve the quality of care and services provided to Medicaid recipients. Subject to Subsection (f), the program may provide incentive payments in accordance with this section to encourage facilities to participate in the program.

(c) In establishing an incentive payment program under this section, the executive commissioner shall, subject to Subsection (d), adopt common performance measures to be used in evaluating nursing facilities that are related to structure, process, and outcomes that positively correlate to nursing facility quality and improvement. The common performance measures:
(1) must be:
(A) recognized by the executive commissioner as valid indicators of the overall quality of care received by Medicaid recipients; and
(B) designed to encourage and reward evidence-based practices among nursing facilities; and
(2) may include measures of:
(A) quality of care, as determined by clinical performance ratings published by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or another federal agency;
(B) direct-care staff retention and turnover;
(C) recipient satisfaction, including the satisfaction of recipients who are short-term and long-term residents of facilities, and family satisfaction, as determined by the Nursing Home Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys relied upon by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;
(D) employee satisfaction and engagement;
(E) the incidence of preventable acute care emergency room services use;
(F) regulatory compliance;
(G) level of person-centered care; and
(H) direct-care staff training, including a facility’s utilization of independent distance learning programs for the continuous training of direct-care staff.
(d) The executive commissioner shall maximize the use of available information technology and limit the number of performance measures adopted under Subsection (c) to achieve administrative cost efficiency and avoid an unreasonable administrative burden on participating nursing facilities.
(e) The executive commissioner may:
(1) determine the amount of any incentive payment under the program; and
(2) enter into a contract with a qualified person, as determined by the executive commissioner, for the following services related to the program:
(A) data collection;
(B) data analysis; and
(C) technical support.
(f) The commission may make incentive payments under the program only if money is appropriated for that purpose.

Text of section effective until April 01, 2025