PRINTER'S NO. 724
No. 95 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY HENNESSEY AND KENNEY, MARCH 9, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
MARCH 9, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Directing the Joint State Government Commission to study issues
2 relating to the Commonwealth's long-term care service
3 delivery system and consumer access to the system and to
4 report its findings and recommendations to the General
5 Assembly.
6 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth's long-term care service delivery
7 system is a joint responsibility of the Department of Aging, the
8 Department of Health and the Department of Public Welfare and a
9 wide array of for-profit and not-for-profit long-term care
10 service providers throughout this Commonwealth; and
11 WHEREAS, Each department is statutorily responsible for
12 regulating and overseeing certain specific types of long-term
13 care services designed to provide the most appropriate level of
14 care and services for consumers in an efficient, effective and
15 fiscally accountable manner; and
16 WHEREAS, It is anticipated that changes will continue to
17 occur in the long-term care delivery system and the dynamics of
18 long-term care and long-term living issues in the future; and
19 WHEREAS, According to the Governor's Office of Health Care
1 Reform, Pennsylvania spends the fourth largest amount of any
2 state in the country per capita on long-term care which amount
3 is 40% more than the average in states across the nation; and
4 WHEREAS, There is a need for a comprehensive bipartisan
5 ongoing review of issues relating to the Commonwealth's long-
6 term care delivery system, with specific review of access to
7 long-term care services necessary to meet the needs of care-
8 dependent Pennsylvanians, including the affordability of
9 services and the role of the public and private sectors in
10 paying for services; and
11 WHEREAS, The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
12 released a report in April 2005 which thoroughly reviewed
13 Pennsylvania's long-term care continuum and examined current
14 demographic information to identify anticipated future demand
15 for long-term care programs and services and the ability of the
16 current long-term care provider network to meet that demand and
17 to assess the role of private and public payers in meeting the
18 current and anticipated future costs for long-term care programs
19 and services in this Commonwealth; and
20 WHEREAS, The 2005 report helped to provide a clearer
21 understanding of the important role of each long-term care
22 provider in caring for consumers in this Commonwealth and
23 confirmed that most long-term care in Pennsylvania and
24 nationwide is provided by family and friends; therefore be it
25 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
26 State Government Commission to study the long-term care service
27 delivery system in this Commonwealth in order to ascertain
28 whether the system is meeting the needs of care-dependent
29 consumers and families and whether current public and private
30 programs for financing services can continue to meet the needs
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1 of consumers and their families and, if servicing and financing
2 needs are not being met, to recommend appropriate corrective
3 measures; and be it further
4 RESOLVED, That the commission conduct public hearings and
5 other comprehensive studies as deemed appropriate to identify
6 and prepare for the implementation of measures that will ensure
7 that Pennsylvania's long-term care service delivery system is
8 accessible and affordable for consumers; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That the commission, through creation of an
10 advisory committee, draw upon the expertise of individuals
11 involved in long-term care service delivery throughout this
12 Commonwealth and that advisory committee members be determined
13 by the commission and be individuals representing consumers,
14 families, providers, payers of long-term care services and State
15 government agencies responsible for oversight and regulation of
16 long-term care services and programs; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That the commission report its findings and
18 recommendations to the General Assembly; and be it further
19 RESOLVED, That the study and hearings authorized by this
20 resolution be in addition to any studies and hearings conducted
21 by the relevant committee of the House of Representatives on the
22 recommendations contained within the commission report.
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