SCR 11: Creating the Long-Term Care Task Force.
00SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 11 01 Creating the Long-Term Care Task Force. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 WHEREAS the establishment of a system to meet the long-term care needs of aging 04 Alaskans is an important issue not only for elderly persons but also for young and middle- 05 aged Alaskans as they attempt to meet the needs of their parents at the same time that they 06 are facing their own and their children's needs; and 07 WHEREAS the cost of long-term care, whether in a home setting or in an institution, 08 often exceeds an individual's ability to pay for the care either immediately or after a short 09 period of time, causing extreme economic and social stress and hardship for many people who 10 have worked hard for many years and still do not have sufficient assets or income to bear the 11 costs of their care; and 12 WHEREAS residents in a Pioneers' Home have been asked to pay the full cost of 13 their long-term care within seven years, resulting in as much as a 30 percent increase this year 14 in some rates for care in the system; and
01 WHEREAS 80 percent of the cost of care for persons now receiving long-term care 02 in privately operated long-term care facilities is paid through state and federal funds under the 03 Medicaid program; and 04 WHEREAS current federal and state long-term care policies of the state have resulted 05 in large subsidies from the state's general fund that will increase in the future, competing with 06 funding for other state programs; and 07 WHEREAS the legislature established a working group in 1996 to analyze issues 08 regarding long-term care services in the state, including projected costs to the state of various 09 alternative methods of providing long-term care; 10 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature establishes the Long-Term Care 11 Task Force to develop an equitable plan for providing long-term care for all Alaskans; and 12 be it 13 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall consist of the following 12 voting 14 members: 15 (1) three members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker 16 of the House of Representatives; at least one member shall be a member of the majority and 17 at least one a member of the minority; 18 (2) three members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate; at 19 least one member shall be a member of the majority and at least one a member of the 20 minority; 21 (3) three members chosen by the Governor from among people who are 22 receiving long-term care, have relatives who are receiving long-term care, or are from an 23 organization that represents the interests of people in need of long-term care; 24 (4) the commissioner of health and social services or the commissioner's 25 designee; 26 (5) the commissioner of commerce and economic development or the 27 commissioner's designee; 28 (6) the commissioner of administration or the commissioner's designee; and 29 be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the public members of the task force shall serve without 31 compensation but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and
01 commissions under AS 39.20.180; and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall select a chair and vice-chair from 03 among its members, shall meet as frequently as the task force determines necessary to perform 04 its work, may meet during the interim, and may meet and vote by teleconference; and be it 05 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall 06 (1) review the work done and the recommendations made by the long-term 07 care working group established under sec. 3, ch. 84, SLA 1996, if available; 08 (2) prepare a plan, including drafts of legislation that might be necessary to 09 implement the plan, for establishment of an actuarially sound system of long-term care and 10 propose funding options, including options that would allow prepayments by persons desiring 11 coverage for long-term care and require reasonable copayments by the recipients of the care; 12 (3) hold public hearings on the plan, legislation, and funding proposals 13 developed under (2) of this clause; 14 (4) redraft the plan, legislation, and funding proposals based on the comments 15 received at the public hearings and other information that becomes available to the task force; 16 the final plan, with proposed legislation and funding options, shall be available for public 17 review at least 30 days before the convening of the Second Regular Session of the Twentieth 18 Alaska State Legislature; and 19 (5) submit the plan, proposed legislation, and funding options to the Governor 20 and the legislature by the convening of the Second Regular Session of the Twentieth Alaska 21 State Legislature; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force may begin work immediately upon the 23 appointment of its full membership and is terminated upon the convening of the Second 24 Regular Session of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature.