SECTION 551.238. Involuntary Appointment of a Trustee

(a) The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) 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; or

(5) the facility is closing (whether voluntarily or through an emergency closure order) and arrangements for relocation of the residents to other licensed facilities 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.

(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 HHSC to disburse emergency assistance funds to the facility.

(e) A facility that receives emergency assistance funds under this section must reimburse HHSC for the amounts received not later than 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 Finance Code, Chapter 302 (relating to Interest Rates), to be applicable to judgments rendered during the month in which the money was disbursed to the facility. HHSC will deposit the reimbursement and the interest received under this subsection to the credit of the Nursing and Convalescent Home Trust Fund.

(f) Any amount remaining due at the end of one year becomes delinquent and will be referred to the attorney general.

(g) HHSC may determine that the facility is ineligible for a Medicaid provider contract.

Source Note: The provisions of this §551.238 adopted to be effective February 1, 1999, 23 TexReg 11829; transferred effective May 1, 2019, as published in the Texas Register April 12, 2019, 44 TexReg 1883; amended to be effective February 24, 2022, 47 TexReg 787