BILL REQ. #:  H-2314.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/04/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to establishing a task force on long-term care financing and chronic care management; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The governor shall establish a joint legislative and executive task force on long-term care financing and chronic care management. The joint task force consists of eight members, as follows: The secretary of the department of social and health services or his or her designee; the secretary of the department of health or his or her designee; the administrator of the health care authority or his or her designee; a representative from the governor's office; two members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate, one of whom shall be a member of the majority caucus and one of whom shall be a member of the minority caucus; and two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one of whom shall be a member of the majority caucus and one of whom shall be a member of the minority caucus.
     (2) The joint task force shall elect a member of the joint task force to serve as chair of the joint task force.
     (3) Consistent with funds appropriated specifically for this purpose, the joint task force shall contract for professional services. State agencies, the senate, and the house of representatives may provide staff support upon request of the joint task force.
     (4) The joint task force shall create advisory committees to assist the joint task force in its work. The task force shall actively consult with and solicit recommendations from the advisory committee or committees regarding issues under consideration by the task force.
     (5) Joint task force members may be reimbursed for travel expenses as authorized under RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060, and chapter 44.04 RCW as appropriate. Advisory committee members, if appointed, may not receive compensation or reimbursement for travel or expenses.
     (6) The joint task force shall review public and private mechanisms for financing long-term care and make recommendations related to:
     (a) The composition of a long-term care system that is adequate to meet the needs of persons of all ages with functional limitations, including appropriate services to be offered in the continuum of care ranging from services to support persons residing at home through residential care;
     (b) Efficient payment models that will effectively sustain public funding of long-term care and maximize the use of financial resources to directly meet the needs of persons of all ages with functional limitations;
     (c) State laws and regulations that should be revised and/or eliminated in order to reduce or contain long-term care costs to individuals and the state;
     (d) The feasibility of private options for realistically enabling individuals to pay for long-term care and the most effective tools for implementing these options. The assessment of options should include but not be limited to: (i) Adequacy of personal savings and pensions; (ii) availability of family care, including incentives and supports for families to provide care or pay for care; (iii) creative community-based strategies or partnerships for funding quality long-term care; (iv) enhanced health insurance options; (v) long-term care insurance options, including incentives to purchase long-term care insurance through individual or group-based products; (vi) life insurance annuities; and (vii) reverse mortgage and other products that draw on home equity; and
     (e) Options that will support long-term care needs of rural communities.
     (7) The joint task force shall recommend chronic care management and disability prevention interventions that will reduce health care and long-term care costs to individuals and the state, improve the health of individuals over their life span, and encourage patient self-management of chronic care needs.
     (8) The joint task force shall incorporate a process designed to facilitate an open dialog with the public on findings and recommendations.
     (9) The joint task force shall: (a) Report its initial findings to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by January 1, 2006; (b) report its recommendations to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by January 1, 2007; and (c) submit a final report to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by June 30, 2007.