(a) The facility must establish and implement an admissions policy.
(b) The facility must not request or require:
  (1) a resident or a potential resident to waive the resident's or potential resident's rights, including the resident's or potential resident's rights to Medicare or Medicaid;
  (2) oral or written assurance that a resident or a potential resident is not eligible for, or will not apply for, Medicare or Medicaid benefits; and
  (3) a resident or a potential resident to waive potential facility liability for losses of personal property.
(c) The facility must not request or require a third-party guarantee of payment to the facility as a condition of admission or expedited admission, or continued stay in the facility. However, the facility may require an individual who has legal access to a resident's income or resources available to pay for facility care to sign a contract, without incurring personal financial liability, to provide facility payment from the resident's income or resources.
(d) In the case of a person eligible for Medicaid, a nursing facility must not charge, solicit, accept, or receive, in addition to any amount otherwise required to be paid under the State Plan, any gift, money, donation, or other consideration as a precondition of admission, expedited admission, or continued stay in the facility. However, a nursing facility may:
  (1) charge a resident who is eligible for Medicaid for items and services the resident has requested and received, and that are not specified in the State Plan as included in the term "nursing facility services" so long as the facility gives proper notice of the availability and cost of these services to a resident and does not condition the resident's admission or continued stay on the request for and receipt of these additional services; and
  (2) solicit, accept, or receive a charitable, religious, or philanthropic contribution from an organization or from a person unrelated to a Medicaid-eligible resident or potential resident, but only to the extent that the contribution is not a condition of admission, expedited admission, or continued stay in the facility for a Medicaid-eligible resident.
(e) A nursing facility must disclose and provide a resident or potential resident before time of admission, notice of special characteristics or service limitations of the facility.
(f) A nursing facility that is a composite distinct part, as defined by 42 CFR §483.5, must disclose in its admission agreement its physical configuration, including the various locations that comprise the composite distinct part, and must specify the policies that apply to room changes between its different locations.

Source Note: The provisions of this §554.501 adopted to be effective May 1, 1995, 20 TexReg 2393; amended to be effective March 24, 2020, 45 TexReg 2025; transferred effective January 15, 2021, as published in the Texas Register December 11, 2020, 45 TexReg 8871