04/02/1998 08:00 AM House STA

HB 44 - ADMISSION TO PIONEERS' HOMES                                           
                                                                               
CHAIR JAMES announced the last order of business would be HB 44,               
"An Act relating to admission to an Alaska Pioneers' Home,"                    
sponsored by Representative Tom Brice.                                         
                                                                               
Number 0282                                                                    
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE TOM BRICE said the idea of HB 44 came to him during             
some discussion he was having with some people who were trying to              
gain admission to the Alaska Pioneers' Home.  He informed the                  
committee that the people he spoke with were concerned that the                
rates were going to grow so fast that they were going to be unable             
to afford them.  He told the committee if a person got on the                  
waiting list for the Pioneers' Home in January under a fixed income            
which they could afford at that time, and perhaps in a year when               
they finally gain admittance, that that amount of income would not             
be sufficient to cover the costs associated with getting in.  He               
said it was suggested that it be put in statute that at the time a             
person gets on the waiting list, that they be locked in at that                
rate.  He said locking a person in at that rate causes some major              
constitutional issues about equal protection and equal access, but             
what can be done is ensuring that a person would not be                        
disqualified from entering the Pioneers' Home based upon their                 
ability to pay.                                                                
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE noted that the Department of Administration               
made a suggestion to Section 1 on page 1 beginning on line 9 which             
reads:                                                                         
                                                                               
     An applicant who is otherwise qualified for admission to the              
     home may not be disqualified for admission based on failure to            
     make an initial payment or provide security for the monthly               
     payments provided for in the agreement entered into AS                    
     47.55.030(a) if the commissioner of administration determines             
     that the applicant is financially unable to make the payment              
     or provide the security.                                                  
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE said instead of using the wording "based on               
failure to make an initial payment" it could be based on some type             
of statement that the applicant is financially unable to make the              
initial payment.  He said "failure" means a person doesn't pay,                
even though they might be financially able to, but they don't.                 
                                                                               
CHAIR JAMES suggested using the term "inability" instead of                    
"failure."                                                                     
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE said that would be fine.                                  
                                                                               
Number 0303                                                                    
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked, "Isn't this the way the Pioneers' Home              
was originally set up?  That the old people when they reach a                  
certain age they have a place to go."                                          
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE stated that we all know what the original                 
purpose of the Pioneers' Home was for.  He said he is not quite                
sure it's necessarily there anymore, but he does know that in the              
scheme of things, it's very important that the state work with the             
community in providing long-term care.  He said the bill would                 
definitely add a certain amount of comfort in those making                     
application that they know they would not be denied access to the              
Pioneers' Home based upon ability.                                             
                                                                               
CHAIR JAMES said the Pioneers' Home was originally intended for                
pioneers who had lived in Alaska for 25 years and for those people             
who were here at statehood.  She pointed out that the law cannot               
require a person to be a pioneer, therefore, the Pioneers' Home has            
to be open to anyone who has lived in Alaska for one year.  Now the            
Pioneers' Home is a state-paid nursing facility.  She said over the            
last few years the rates have been greatly increased because it is             
such an expensive operation.  Even at the rates people are being               
charged, it still does not cover the costs.  She indicated that all            
of the people in the Pioneers' Homes are not paying what it costs,             
but those who can are paying a much higher fee.  She noted that                
there's been a lot of distress from the pioneers on that issue                 
because even though they have the money to pay, they have other                
things they like to do with their money besides pay for their board            
and room.  When the rates kept rising, they began to worry that                
they wouldn't be able to stay there anymore.                                   
                                                                               
Number 0322                                                                    
                                                                               
CHAIR JAMES noted that the legislature passed legislation a couple             
of years ago that said if a person is already in a pioneer home and            
if the rates increased so that person would not be able to pay                 
anymore, that they can't be kicked out.  She said when she                     
evaluates the legality of it with equal protection, if there are               
some people who are in the pioneer homes who don't have to pay,                
then the people who are qualified to be in there should be owed the            
same benefit.  If we don't do that, that there might be an                     
opportunity to challenge that.  Chair James commented that pioneer             
homes are an extremely expensive way to provide a home for these               
people and pointed out that there are other assisted-living homes              
available, which are much less expensive and more efficient so that            
people can live more of a normal life instead of an institutional              
life.  In conclusion she said, "We don't have enough places that's             
why there's a waiting list and I think this is a good way to go on             
this issue, but it doesn't cover the whole concern that we have,               
and it's a big one.  And I've been very frustrated with this whole             
issue for the six years I've been here, as to how to manage the                
growing cost of the pioneers homes.  Not necessarily because it                
doesn't provide a good home for some people, but that it is so                 
extremely costly more than other systems."                                     
                                                                               
Number 0337                                                                    
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE HODGINS noted that there is a zero fiscal note and              
said if people are going to be allowed not to pay, it seems there              
would be some sort of fiscal note generated.                                   
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE said, "It's current policy, it's not statute,             
but it is policy, and as we know, policies can change with the                 
winds of the wind that someone will not be denied admittance.  So              
they are currently doing this."  He said his concern is that under             
the constant pressures that Chair James has brought forth that that            
policy will change.  And that some time in the future it could be              
reasonably assumed that the administration of the Pioneers' Home               
would definitely base one's acceptance upon ability to pay.                    
                                                                               
Number 0348                                                                    
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN made a motion to replace the word "failure"                
with the word "inability" on page 1, line 10.  There being no                  
objection, it was so ordered.                                                  
                                                                               
Number 0350                                                                    
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE HODGINS made a motion to move HB 44 out of committee            
as amended with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal            
note.  There being no objection, CSHB 44(STA) moved out of the                 
House State Affairs Standing Committee.