Chapter 286
2006 -- H 7686
SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/03/06
A N A C T
RELATING
TO MEDICAL ASSISTANCE -- LONG-TERM CARE SERVICE AND FINANCE REFORM
Introduced By:
Representatives Sullivan, Jackson, Church, O`Neill, and Williamson
Date
Introduced: February 16, 2006
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Title
40 of the General Laws entitled "HUMAN SERVICES" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
8.9
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE -
LONG-TERM CARE SERVICE AND FINANCE REFORM
40-8.9-1.
Findings. -- (a) The number of Rhode Islanders in need of long-term
care
services continues to rise substantially, and
the quality of life of these Rhode Islanders is
determined by the capacity of the long-term care
system to provide access to the full array of
services and supports required to meet their
health care needs and maintain their independence.
(b) It is in
the interest of all Rhode Islanders to endorse and fund statewide efforts to
build a fiscally sound, dynamic long-term care
system that supports: consumer independence and
choice; the delivery of high quality,
coordinated services; the financial integrity of all
participants-purchasers, payers, providers and
consumers; and the responsible and efficient
allocation of all available public and private
resources.
(c) It is in
the interest of all Rhode Islanders to assure that rates paid for community-
based long-term care services are adequate to
assure high quality as well as supportive of
workforce recruitment and retention.
(d) It is in
the interest of all Rhode Islanders to improve consumer's access information
regarding community-based alternatives to
institutional settings of care.
40-8.9-2.
System reform goal. -- On or before July 1, 2007, the department of
human
services shall begin to implement a model system
for integrated long-term care, that expands the
capacity of the long-term care system as a whole
to support consumer choice and independence;
enables consumers to access coordinated
services; assures quality outcomes through certification
standards, performance measures and incentives
and rewards that promote service excellence and
generates the information consumers need to make
reasoned choices about their health care; and
improves the system's overall stability by
reinvesting the benefits that accrue from the more
efficient utilization of services to enhance the
capacity of each of its component parts. Attaining
system-wide reform of the magnitude set forth
herein will require significant changes in the
organization, financing and delivery of services
that must be implemented incrementally.
40-8.9-3.
Least restrictive setting requirement. -- Beginning on July 1, 2006,
the
department of human services is directed and authorized
to allocate existing Medicaid resources
as needed to ensure that those in need of
long-term care and support services receive them in the
least restrictive setting appropriate to their
needs and preferences. The department is hereby
authorized to utilize screening criteria, to
avoid unnecessary institutionalization of persons during
the full eligibility determination process for
Medicaid community based care.
40-8.9-4.
Unified long-term care budget. – Beginning on July 1, 2007, a unified
long-
term care budget shall combine in a single
line-item within the department of human services
budget, annual department of human services
Medicaid appropriations for nursing facility and
community-based long-term care services
(including adult day care, home health, and personal
care in assisted living settings). Beginning on
July 1, 2007, the total system savings attributable to
the value of the reduction in nursing home days
paid for by Medicaid shall be allocated for the
express purpose of promoting and strengthening
community-based alternatives.
40-8.9-5.
Administration and regulations. -- As the single state agency
designated to
administer the Rhode Island Medicaid program,
the department is hereby directed and authorized
to develop and submit any requests for waivers,
demonstration projects, grants and state plan
amendments or regulations that may be considered
necessary and appropriate to support the
general purposes of this statute. Such requests
shall be made in consultation with any affected
departments and, to the extent feasible, any
consumer group, advisory body, or other entity
designated for such purposes.
40-8.9-6.
Reporting. -- Annual reports shall be submitted by the department to
the Joint
Legislative Committee on Health Care Oversight
as well as the finance committees of both the
senate and the house of representatives and
shall include estimates of the investments necessary
to provide stability to the existing system and
establish the infrastructure and programs required
to achieve system-wide reform.
40-8.9-7.
Rate reform. – By January 2008 the department of human services
shall design
and require to be submitted by all service providers
cost reports for all community-based long-
term services.
40-8.9-8.
System screening. – By January 2008 the department of human services
shall
develop and implement a screening strategy for
the purpose of identifying entrants to the publicly
financed long-term care system prior to
application for eligibility as well as defining their
potential service needs.
SECTION 2. Section
40-8.5-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-8.5 entitled "Health
Care for Elderly and Disabled Residents Act"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
40-8.5-1.
Categorically needy medical assistance coverage. -- (a) The department
of
human services is hereby authorized and directed
to amend its Title XIX state plan to provide for
categorically needy medical assistance coverage
as permitted pursuant to Title XIX of the Social
Security Act [42 U.S.C. section 1396 et seq.] as
amended to individuals who are sixty-five (65)
years or older or are disabled (as determined
under section 1614(a)(3)) of the Social Security Act
[42 U.S.C. section 1382c(a)(3)] as amended whose
income does not exceed one hundred percent
(100%) of the federal poverty level (as revised
annually) applicable to the individual's family
size, and whose resources do not exceed four
thousand dollars ($4,000) per individual, or six
thousand dollars ($6,000) per couple. The
department shall provide medical assistance coverage
to such elderly or disabled persons in the same
amount, duration and scope as provided to other
categorically needy persons under the state's
Title XIX state plan.
(b) In order to
ensure that individuals with disabilities, have access to quality and
affordable health care, the department is
authorized to plan and to implement a system of health
care delivery through a voluntary (opt-out)
managed care health system for such individuals.
"Managed care" is defined as a system
that: integrates an efficient financing mechanism with
quality service delivery; provides a
"medical home" to assure appropriate care and deter
unnecessary and inappropriate care; and places
emphasis on preventive and primary care.
(c) The
department is authorized to obtain any approval and/or waivers from the United
States Department of Health and Human Services, necessary
to implement a voluntary (opt-out)
managed health care delivery system to the
extent approved by the United States Department of
Health and Human Services.
(d) The
department shall submit a report to the Permanent Joint Committee on Health
Care Oversight no later than April 1, 2006 that
proposes an implementation plan for this
voluntary program, based on beginning enrollment
not sooner than July 1, 2006. The report will
describe projected program costs and savings,
the outreach strategy to be employed to educate the
potentially eligible populations, the enrollment
plan, and an implementation schedule.
(e) To ensure
the delivery of timely and appropriate services to persons who become
automatically eligible for Medicaid by virtue of
their eligibility for a Social
Security
Administration program, data on their special needs may be
reported to the department of human
services by the Social Security Administration.
The department of human services is authorized to
seek any and all data sharing agreements or
other agreements with the Social
Security
Administration as may be necessary to receive timely and
accurate diagnostic data and clinical
assessments to be used exclusively for the
purpose of service planning, and to be held and
exchanged in accordance with all applicable
state and federal medical record confidentiality laws
and regulations.
SECTION 3. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
=======
LC02300/SUB
A
=======