Sec. 241.183.  RULES.  (a)  The executive commissioner, in consultation with the department, shall adopt rules:
(1)  establishing the levels of care for neonatal and maternal care to be assigned to hospitals;
(2)  prescribing criteria for designating levels of neonatal and maternal care, respectively, including specifying the minimum requirements to qualify for each level designation;
(3)  establishing a process for the assignment of levels of care to a hospital for neonatal and maternal care, respectively;
(4)  establishing a process for amending the level of care designation requirements, including a process for assisting facilities in implementing any changes made necessary by the amendments;
(5)  dividing the state into neonatal and maternal care regions;
(6)  facilitating transfer agreements through regional coordination;
(7)  requiring payment, other than quality or outcome-based funding, to be based on services provided by the facility, regardless of the hospital's level of care designation;
(8)  prohibiting the denial of a neonatal or maternal level of care designation to a hospital that meets the minimum requirements for that level of care designation;
(9)  establishing a process through which a hospital may obtain a limited follow-up survey by an independent third party to appeal the level of care designation assigned to the hospital;
(10)  permitting a hospital to satisfy any requirement for a Level I or II level of care designation that relates to an obstetrics or gynecological physician by:
(A)  granting maternal care privileges to a family physician with obstetrics training or experience; and
(B)  developing and implementing a plan for responding to obstetrical emergencies that require services or procedures outside the scope of privileges granted to the family physician described by Paragraph (A);
(11)  clarifying that, regardless of a hospital's level of care designation, a health care provider at a designated facility or hospital may provide the full range of health care services:
(A)  that the provider is authorized to provide under state law; and
(B)  for which the hospital has granted privileges to the provider; and
(12)  requiring the department to provide to each hospital that receives a level of care designation a written explanation of the basis for the designation, including, as applicable, specific reasons that prevented the hospital from receiving a higher level of care designation.
(b)  The criteria for levels one through three of neonatal and maternal care adopted under Subsection (a)(2) may not include requirements related to the number of patients treated at a hospital.
(c)  The commission shall study patient transfers that are not medically necessary but would be cost-effective.  Based on the study under this subsection, if the executive commissioner determines that the transfers are feasible and desirable, the executive commissioner may adopt rules addressing those transfers.
(d)  Each level of care designation must require a hospital to regularly submit outcome and other data to the department as required or requested.
(e)  The criteria a hospital must achieve to receive each level of care designation must be posted on the department's Internet website.
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 217 (H.B. 15), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.
Amended by: 
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0587, eff. April 2, 2015.
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 600 (S.B. 749), Sec. 1, eff. June 10, 2019.