1. (a) The Texas Health and Human Services Commission administers the STAR+PLUS program for the delivery of Medicaid-covered acute and long-term services and supports. Covered services include all Medicaid State Plan primary and acute care services and all long-term services and supports covered by Medicaid.
2. (b) The STAR+PLUS program operates under the authority of 1915(b) and 1915(c) waivers. Rules governing the operation of the STAR+PLUS program will be in accordance with Subchapter E of this chapter (relating to Standards for Medicaid Managed Care).
3. (c) Through competitive procurement, managed care organizations (MCOs) are selected to provide the Medicaid-covered acute care services and long-term services and supports.

4. (d) The STAR+PLUS program serves members whose primary residence is in one of the following STAR+PLUS MCO service areas:

   1. (1) Bexar, which consists of Bexar, Atascosa, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, and Wilson counties;
   2. (2) Harris, which consists of Harris County;
   3. (3) Harris Contiguous, which consists of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Montgomery, and Waller counties;
   4. (4) Nueces, which consists of Nueces, Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Refugio, San Patricio, and Victoria counties;
   5. (5) Travis, which consists of Travis, Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Lee, and Williamson counties;
   6. (6) Dallas, which consists of Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall counties;
   7. (7) Tarrant, which consists of Tarrant, Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, and Wise counties; or
   8. (8) Other service areas and counties as authorized by a waiver amendment approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Source Note:The provisions of this §353.601 adopted to be effective December 1, 1997, 22 TexReg 11403; transferred effective September 1, 2004, as published in the Texas Register September 17, 2004, 29 TexReg 9013; amended to be effective February 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 231.