(a) Bank account.
  (1) The contracted assisted living facility must keep funds received from or on behalf of a client for a trust fund in a separate bank account from the facility's operating funds. The account must be identified as "Trustee, (Name of Facility), Client's Trust Fund Account."
  (2) The facility may use the following type of checking accounts for the trust fund:
    (A) a pooled checking account, which is a single checking account that contains all the personal funds received from each client utilizing the trust fund;
    (B) a client-choice individual checking account, which is a single checking account that contains only the personal funds of a single client. The client or the client's representative must request this type of trust fund in writing; or
    (C) a facility-choice individual checking account, which is a single checking account that contains only the funds of a single client. This type of trust fund is set up for the convenience of the facility.
(b) Commingled funds. A facility may commingle the trust funds of private-pay clients and Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) clients.
  (1) Each private-pay client or the client's representative whose funds are commingled with DHS client funds must sign and date a permission form upon admission or at the time of request for trust fund services. The permission form must include:
    (A) permission for the facility to commingle the personal funds of the private pay client with DHS clients;
    (B) permission for the facility to maintain trust fund records of private-pay clients in the same manner as the DHS client's trust fund records; and
    (C) a provision allowing inspection of the private-pay client's trust fund records by DHS staff.
  (2) The facility must keep financial records of private pay clients with commingled funds in the same manner as the financial records of DHS clients as specified in this chapter.
(c) Banking charges.
  (1) The facility is responsible for bank fees for the trust fund kept in a pooled checking account or in facility-choice individual checking accounts. The facility must not charge these fees to the client or the client's representative. The facility may report these fees as allowable costs on its cost report.
  (2) The client or the client's representative is responsible for bank fees for the trust fund kept in client-choice individual checking accounts.
  (3) The facility must not charge the client or the client's representative for the administrative handling of any allowable type of checking account. The facility may report these costs on its cost report.
(d) Interest earned. The facility must distribute the interest earned on the pooled checking account, if the pooled checking account is interest-bearing, to all clients utilizing the trust fund. The facility must prorate the actual interest earned to each client's account:
  (1) at the time the financial institution pays the interest; and
  (2) on the basis of the client's balance at the time the financial institution pays the interest.

Source Note: The provisions of this §46.63 adopted to be effective September 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 6941