Step 2: Set up Software

Select Your Software

Nursing facility and swing bed facility Minimum Data Set (MDS) personnel enter MDS information into MDS data entry software (MDS software). Facilities may purchase third party MDS software or use the free MDS software provided by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Questions about features, functions and bugs in third party MDS software must be directed to the facility's software vendor. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission cannot recommend third party MDS software vendors.

CMS provides support and resources on the Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES) Technical Support Office (QTSO) website.

Enter Texas Settings for Provider IDs, HIV/AIDS, Section S, RUGs, CMI Set and Section S

Nursing facility providers must complete section GG and related fields when they submit an Omnibus Reconciliation Act assessment.

Each provider or vendor will have to set the STATE_PDPM_OBRA_CD value to “1 (Yes, perform PDPM calculations for OBRAs)” in their Minimum Data Set software.

Once this feature is activated, data entered in the applicable MDS fields should not affect OBRA required assessments of resident well-being and will not affect the calculation of the MDS Resource Utilization Group III code used by Texas Medicaid for payment purposes.

The additional data contained in the applicable MDS fields is vital to compare current RUG III data with Patient Driven Payment Model Data in order to develop future Medicaid payment methodologies. These may include a PDPM type model adapted for use in Texas long-term care.

This advanced notice is intended to allow facilities time to develop their processes, ensure staff are appropriately trained and allow time to work with any software venders as needed.

Read Provider Letter 2022-27 (PDF) for additional information.

Visit the Texas MDS Page for updates.

Contact your specific MDS software vendor for support.

Contact MDS program staff.

MDS data entry programs (MDS software) must be configured so that software settings meet Texas requirements. If you are a new MDS coordinator, it is highly recommended that you double-check the software settings of currently-installed MDS software on ALL computers that have MDS software to ensure they are set up correctly.

The current Medicare Resource Utilization Group (RUG) setting for Z0100 and Z0150 should be using case mix index (CMI) set E03 (rural) or E04 (urban). Contact a facility's Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) / Fiscal Intermediary (FI), Novitas Solutions in Texas, to find out if a facility is rural or urban. The current Medicaid RUG settings for Z0250 use case mix index set F01 as defined in the CMS website > MDS 3.0 Technical Information page > "RUG III Files & RUG IV Files" link (this clarifies the Z0250 settings in the HHSC Provider Letter #16-20 linked below). Facilities must contact their MDS software vendor for instructions on how to update RUG settings/configuration in their software.

The links below will help facilities to properly set up their software:

Set Up a CMSNet Account

MDS data entry software products create data files, also called extract files, which must be submitted over a secure connection to the CMS data repository. Most nursing facilities and swing bed facilities submit their MDS data directly to CMS using CMSNet. Some facilities utilize third party tools or services that submit data for the facility so that the facility does not use CMSNet.

A person who needs to use CMSNet to submit MDS data must obtain a CMSNet account. Use the CMSNet Online Registration Instructions to request a CMSNet account.

Nursing facilities and swing bed facilities with issues logging into, or using, the CMS website for accessing Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) or submitting MDS data should be directed to the QTSO Help Desk at 1-800-339-9313.