Legislature(1993 - 1994)
03/21/1994 09:13 AM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
CHAIRMAN LEMAN brings up SB 249 (REGULATION OF ASSISTED LIVING HOMES) as the next order of business before the committee. The chairman calls a representative from the Department of Administration to testify. Number 246 CONNIE SIPE, Executive Director, Division of Senior Services, Department of Administration states CSSB 249(HES) is a governor's bill and is also supported by the Industry of Adult Foster Homes and Adult Residential Care Centers, The Alaska Hospital & Nursing Home Association, the Pioneer Homes Advisory Board, the Older Alaskans' Commission, the Pioneers of Alaska, and the AARP. MS. SIPE states there are three key points the bill would address which she would like to summarize. SB 249 takes a new approach to living outside of one's own home and outside a nursing home. It creates a consumer protection or a landlord-tenant type of atmosphere of adequate disclosure to the consumer. It allows access to health care in a home-like setting, instead of forbidding people to get any health care help between the doors of their own home and those of a nursing home. And it transfers all the licensing responsibility from DFYS (Division of Family & Youth Services) for licensing adult type care homes to two agencies with program experience serving adults. Homes that serve primarily the elderly and physically disabled will be licensed by the Division of Senior Services within the Department of Administration, and homes such as group homes for developmentally disabled will be licensed by the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities within the Department of Health & Social Services (DHSS). There are provisions for dealing with overlap of jurisdiction so that the person in the private sector who is running this business is not burdened. MS. SIPE says she would be glad to answer any questions. She knows quite a few members of the committee are familiar with the bill, so she won't go into it in great length, but would be glad to highlight any parts the chairman wishes. Number 271 CHAIRMAN LEMAN thanks Ms. Sipe and asks if there are questions from committee members. The chairman notes many members of the State Affairs Committee are familiar with SB 249 because of all the work that was done on it in the Health, Education & Social Services Committee. Number 280 SENATOR TAYLOR asks if the state is now going into the licensing business. Number 283 MS. SIPE responds the state currently licenses adult foster homes and adult residential care centers, all states do license some level of adult care facility, the licensing responsibility is simply being transferred. However, the whole bill is less of a licensing type of bill than it is a landlord-tenant type of bill. SB 249 contains residents and landlords rights and responsibilities explicitly laid out. The current licensing system labels all the adults who live in these facilities "dependant", treats them like they were wards of the state, and does not require them to get much disclosure of what they are purchasing from a dependant care facility. MS. SIPE says this would encourage small developers who are interested in building assisted living homes to do so. Current licensing is not favorable to assisted living. The pioneers homes can handle assisted living because they are not required to be licensed. Literally, if someone cannot take the cap off their medication bottle, they cannot be in an adult foster home, even if that home is run by a registered nurse. If they are bedridden with bronchitis for five days, they are supposed to be discharged to a nursing home. SB 249 would allow them to have access to health care in assisted living homes. The state currently licenses, but this is a change in licensing. It hopefully will require less state oversight. Number 310 SENATOR TAYLOR is concerned that pioneers homes are not licensed. MS. SIPE states the pioneers homes would become licensed under this bill. But SB 249 was not proposed for the purpose of licensing the pioneers homes, it was proposed for the private sector. This will allow the private sector to grow. It will not change the activities of the pioneers homes, it will not require pioneers homes to have assisted living, although pioneers homes would be subject to getting licensed under SB 249. Number 325 SENATOR TAYLOR is concerned with the length of the bill. On page 18 of the bill, language says, "this chapter does not preclude a state agency from imposing additional requirements or standards on an assisted living home in order for the home to receive state or federal payment for services." There is a blank check for DEC or the Fire Marshall. Senator Taylor says over the years, he has watched these agencies with dictatorial power have great effect on businesses. Senator Taylor says the only reason this is a growing industry is no one can afford to put their relatives into our state-supported facilities. So now we are going to let the state get involved in the private sector. That indicates to him, that the price for the private sector services will have to increase. Number 349 MS. SIPE replies the state has the same concern: they do not want to over-regulate. Senior Services plans to handle this with one licensing worker. They are going from one year licenses to two year licenses renewals. The state is trying to minimize the regulations. The state is de-regulating one and two person foster homes, so that if you want to arrange with a retired nurse who is your neighbor, to take care of your mother, you can do that and they will not be regulated at all. SB 249 actually contains quite a few deregulatory provisions. By requiring disclosure by the home, we feel that the state can stay further out of that relationship and just do the minimal amount of licensing needed. MS. SIPE says she would like to address Senator Taylor's comments about the Fire Marshall and DEC, but SB 249 does not address that issue. That is a whole other area of law. The industry has great difficulty with the Fire Marshall, partially because of conflicting local jurisdiction interpretations. Local jurisdictions can have their own interpretations of law, and can enforce more stringently than the State Fire Marshall. However, Ms. Sipe has checked with the State Fire Marshall and they are not interested in a state over-ride in this bill at this time. They have promised to work with the Department of Administration to try to get more uniformity in interpretation. The private sector is running into some of the problems mentioned by Senator Taylor. DEC is not as big a problem as the Fire Marshall. The Fire Marshall is the problem Ms. Sipe hears all over the state. She is sorry this bill does not have a cure for that problem. Ms. Sipe points out that what to some people is a problem, to the Municipality of Anchorage is a local control issue; it depends on which way you look at it. Number 368 MS. SIPE introduces Pat Denny from the Older Alaskan's Commission and notes that the commission supports SB 249. There is a position paper from them in the committee's bill packet. Number 378 SENATOR TAYLOR comments he is concerned with SB 249 because he is new to it. He believes in the concept of the bill. Number 384 SENATOR MILLER makes a motion to discharge SB 249 from the Senate State Affairs Committee with individual recommendations. Number 385 CHAIRMAN LEMAN, hearing no objection, orders SB 249 released from committee with individual recommendations.
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