04/23/2019 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

         HB  96-PIONEERS' HOME AND VETERANS' HOME RATES                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:23:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced  the next order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO. 96, "An Act  relating to Alaska Pioneers' Home and                                                               
Alaska Veterans' Home rates and services."                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
[Before the committee was CSHB 96(STA), labeled 31-LS0646\U.]                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:24:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ZACK FIELDS,  Alaska State  Legislature, speaking                                                               
as the sponsor  of HB 96, offered to answer  questions about CSHB
 (STA).                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:24:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY [opened] public testimony on HB 96.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:25:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
LAURA BONNER  said she  is a 47-year  Alaska resident  and voter.                                                               
She  said  she  is  a   retired  construction  worker  living  in                                                               
Anchorage  and expressed  her  strong support  for  HB 96,  which                                                               
would keep  rates at the  Pioneer Homes and the  Alaska Veterans'                                                               
Home affordable.   She cautioned  raising rates is an  example of                                                               
cost  shifting.   Further,  the bill  would  show Alaskans  value                                                               
their veterans and  seniors, as they have since  1913.  Residents                                                               
of the  homes need predictability of  rates and she said  she may                                                               
need [said] predictability  in the future.  Ms.  Bonner urged for                                                               
the legislature to find other ways to raise revenue.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:26:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VERNA ESPENSHADE  said she is 88  years old and has  lived at the                                                               
Anchorage  Pioneer Home  for nine  years.   She used  to be  very                                                               
happy at  the Pioneer Home, but  in the past years,  the food and                                                               
the  atmosphere  are "not  all  the  way it  used  to  be."   Ms.                                                               
Espenshade spoke  in opposition  to raising her  rent.   She said                                                               
she can  afford her  Level 1 rent  of $2,588 but  if the  rent is                                                               
raised, she would  have to go on Medicaid, which  the state would                                                               
have to  pay.  She questioned  how this could be  the right thing                                                               
to do, when  she can afford to  pay her rent at  the present rate                                                               
but could  not afford to  pay over  $3,000.  She  complained that                                                               
the  home  has changed,  and  she  is  not  happy with  the  rent                                                               
situation.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:28:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
AVES THOMPSON said  his wife lives at the  Anchorage Pioneer Home                                                               
and has been diagnosed with  Alzheimer's disease.  She resides in                                                               
the  Memory  Care  Unit  and  the current  monthly  cost  of  her                                                               
residence and  assistance is $6,795  per month.  The  Division of                                                               
Alaska Pioneer  Homes [Department  of Health and  Social Services                                                               
(DHSS)]  is promulgating  regulations  that  would increase  [his                                                               
wife's] rate to  $13,333 per month - which is  an annual increase                                                               
of $78,456 - and  is not a budget reduction but  is only a change                                                               
in funding sources.   In fact, the governor's  amended budget for                                                               
the division  is only $4,200 less  than the current budget.   Mr.                                                               
Thompson said  he is  a private payer  and receives  no subsidies                                                               
from state  or federal government;  his long-term  care insurance                                                               
will lapse  in approximately 13  months and the remainder  of his                                                               
wife's care is funded by  retirement income and personal savings.                                                               
The rate  increase would force his  wife out of the  Pioneer Home                                                               
and the  final result would  be that most  or all of  the Pioneer                                                               
Homes'  residents will  be  subsidized by  public  dollars.   Mr.                                                               
Thompson  said this  fails  to benefit  the  citizens of  Alaska.                                                               
Although HB  96 would limit  the fees,  a 30 percent  increase is                                                               
excessive as the rate of  inflation in Alaska has been relatively                                                               
low.   He suggested an increase  of 10 percent to  20 percent may                                                               
be appropriate.  Mr. Thompson  advised [the increase in rates] is                                                               
not  consistent  with  statements  made  by  Representative  Neal                                                               
Foster, co-chair  of the House  Finance Committee.   Mr. Thompson                                                               
said without  action to  reduce the  rate increase,  the division                                                               
will  implement the  higher fees,  which will  be disruptive  and                                                               
destructive.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:32:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took a brief at-ease.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:32:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHARLES MCKEE provided  comments not on topic  with the published                                                               
agenda.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:37:04 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  ZULKOSKY,  after ascertaining  no  one  else wished  to                                                               
testify, closed public testimony on HB 96.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:37:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  TARR moved  to report  CSHB 96(STA),  labeled 31-                                                               
LS0646\U, out  of committee  with individual  recommendations and                                                               
the accompanying fiscal note.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:37:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT  objected.   He observed  the bill  was not                                                               
referred  to the  House  Finance Committee  -  although the  bill                                                               
affects state finances  - and urged the committee  to request the                                                               
Speaker of the House to add a referral prior to moving the bill.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:38:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 3:38 p.m. to 3:40 p.m.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  PRUITT further  explained  because the  financial                                                               
nature of  the bill would  affect individuals and the  state, the                                                               
bill  should be  referred to  the  House Finance  Committee.   He                                                               
remarked:                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     ...  there's kind  of a  delicate  balance between  the                                                                    
     usurping  of, kind  of,  our  authority of  controlling                                                                    
     things, and  giving that to  the regulators as  well as                                                                    
     the  times that  we put  things in  statute because  of                                                                    
     the, the  great challenge  there is to  change statute.                                                                    
     ...  You  don't really want to give it  all over to the                                                                    
     regulators to  make those decisions, at  the same time,                                                                    
     as we've  seen this  year, anytime that  you're looking                                                                    
     to make a change  ...   it becomes very difficult if we                                                                    
     find  later that  we need  to make  an adjustment  that                                                                    
     doesn't fit  with the  statutory guidelines  that we've                                                                    
     given  ...  I'll maintain the objection.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:41:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ  recalled testimony by DHSS  presenting "valid                                                               
concerns" that  rates at the  Alaska Pioneer Homes have  not been                                                               
raised; however, she urged for  "some reason and rational" to the                                                               
process of  raising rates.   She  disagreed that  the methodology                                                               
using the  Consumer Price  Index (CPI)  restricts the  ability of                                                               
the  department to  raise  rates and  keep up  with  the cost  of                                                               
providing care.  One of the  problems has been that DHSS does not                                                               
have  a  structure   in  place  to  allow   for  reasonable  rate                                                               
increases.   Co-Chair Spohnholz agreed  if the division  tried to                                                               
proceed with  a dramatic increase  that did not comport  with the                                                               
language in  HB 96, it  would have  to return to  the legislature                                                               
for  a  policy   decision,  which  would  be   appropriate  if  a                                                               
[department/division] makes very extreme  changes.  She expressed                                                               
her support for the bill.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:43:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
A  roll   call  vote  was   taken.     Representatives  Zulkosky,                                                               
Spohnholz, Drummond,  and Tarr voted  in favor of  reporting CSHB
(STA)  out of  committee.   Representatives Pruitt  and Jackson                                                               
voted against  it.  Therefore,  CSHB 96(STA) was reported  out of                                                               
the  House Health  and Social  Services Standing  Committee by  a                                                               
vote of 4-2.