REPORT TITLE:
Long-Term Residential Care


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes an information and referral process.  Makes an
appropriation to DOH to implement statewide initial information
and referral screening.  Requires the Joint Legislative Committee
on Long-term Care Subcommittee on Residential Care to report on a
study for adult residential care facilities.   (SB2490 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2490
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO LONG-TERM RESIDENTIAL CARE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii's citizens are
 
 2 faced with an overwhelming financial burden of caring for their
 
 3 elderly and disabled residents whose needs will continue to grow
 
 4 as the population ages.  The cost of nursing home care is
 
 5 currently the highest of all types of long-term care and
 
 6 continues to escalate.  Consequently, long-term residential care
 
 7 has become a realistic and cost-effective alternative.
 
 8      The legislature further finds that there is no one, simple,
 
 9 uniform way for a person who needs long-term care to easily and
 
10 quickly access the appropriate care.  An information and referral
 
11 system would provide a simple and uniform, yet sophisticated and
 
12 comprehensive way to allow people easy access into the long-term
 
13 residential care system.
 
14      Act 339, Session Laws of Hawaii 1997, created a two-year
 
15 joint legislative committee on long-term care financing.
 
16 Subsequently, House Concurrent Resolution No. 225, H.D. 1,
 
17 S.D. 1, 1998, required the joint committee to create a
 
18 subcommittee to study long-term residential care facilities.
 
19      The recommendations of the subcommittee included, among
 
20 other things:
 

 
Page 2                                                     2490
                                     S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
                                                        H.D. 1
                                                        

 
 1      (1)  Improving the regulatory environment to:
 
 2           (A)  Reduce fragmentation in the adult long-term
 
 3                residential care industry by consolidating and
 
 4                simplifying organizational categories of
 
 5                facilities;
 
 6           (B)  Increase uniformity of regulation across facility
 
 7                types; and
 
 8           (C)  Promote parity of provider reimbursement for
 
 9                similar services provided regardless of facility
 
10                type;
 
11           and
 
12      (2)  The implementation of an information and referral
 
13           process for all adult long-term residential care
 
14           facilities in the State, which is being addressed by
 
15           the department of health by administrative rule.
 
16      Pursuant to Act 339, S.B. No. 856, 1999, was introduced and
 
17 is pending in conference committee.  Your Committee believes that
 
18 the provisions in S.B. No. 856, relating to organizing the
 
19 various residential care homes and facilities into two categories
 
20 of adult residential care facilities, has merit and should be
 
21 pursued by the department of health.
 
22      The purpose of this Act is to provide for an efficient,
 
23 streamlined, and accessible long-term care system.
 

 
Page 3                                                     2490
                                     S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
                                                        H.D. 1
                                                        

 
 1      SECTION 2.  Chapter 321, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 2 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 3 read as follows:
 
 4      "§321-    Long-term care information and referral.  Subject
 
 5 to legislative appropriations, the department of health shall
 
 6 establish an information and referral process that shall serve
 
 7 all potential clients of licensed care homes, namely, the
 
 8 elderly, the non-elderly under age sixty, and disabled persons of
 
 9 all ages.  The information and referral process shall include a
 
10 uniform initial information and referral screening using a tool
 
11 to be developed by the executive office on aging."
 
12      SECTION 3.  A study on reorganizing all adult residential
 
13 care homes and facilities into a new "adult residential care
 
14 facilities" category, for regulatory purposes, as contained in
 
15 S.B. No. 856, H.D. 2, 1999 Regular Session, shall be conducted by
 
16 the subcommittee on residential care of the joint legislative
 
17 committee on long-term care, re-constituted as it was originally
 
18 created under House Concurrent Resolution No. 225, 1998.  The
 
19 study shall either:
 
20      (1)  Recommend enactment of a new adult residential care
 
21           facilities model with two facility categories and seven
 
22           designated entities; or
 

 
 
 
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                                     S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
                                                        H.D. 1
                                                        

 
 1      (2)  Recommend an alternative model with proposed
 
 2           legislation to reduce the fragmentation, increase cost-
 
 3           effectiveness, and improve operational effectiveness of
 
 4           residential care services.
 
 5      For purposes of the study, the joint legislative committee
 
 6 on long-term care, subcommittee on residential care, is
 
 7 encouraged to solicit the input of organizations concerned with
 
 8 long-term care and providers of long-term care, including
 
 9 facilities, homes, and hospitals.
 
10      The joint legislative committee on long-term care,
 
11 subcommittee on residential care, shall report on its findings
 
12 and recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty days
 
13 prior to the convening of the regular session of 2001.
 
14      SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
15 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           or so much
 
16 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001 to be
 
17 expended for:
 
18      (1)  An augmentation of the executive office on aging's
 
19           aging network to perform initial information and
 
20           referral screening for all persons aged sixty and
 
21           older;
 

 
 
 
 
 
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                                     S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
                                                        H.D. 1
                                                        

 
 1      (2)  The executive office on aging to expand its screening
 
 2           and referral program to coordinate the establishment
 
 3           and operation of similar services to be provided by
 
 4           ASK-2000, or other information and referral providers
 
 5           as appropriate, for clients under age sixty.  The
 
 6           development of this expansion shall begin in July 2001,
 
 7           and full operation shall begin in July 2002;
 
 8      (3)  A subcontract by the executive office on aging with
 
 9           ASK-2000, or other information and referral providers
 
10           to provide similar supplementary initial information
 
11           and referral screening for all potential clients under
 
12           age sixty.  The development of this supplementary
 
13           service shall begin in July 2001 and full operation
 
14           shall begin in July 2002; and
 
15      (4)  One-time start-up costs and annual operating costs.
 
16      The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of
 
17 health.
 
18      SECTION 5.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
19      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
20 provided that section 4 shall take effect on July 1, 2000.