HOUSE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE February 1, 2000 3:00 p.m. COMMITTEE CALENDAR STATE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL TAPES 00-6, SIDE A CALL TO ORDER CHAIRMAN FRED DYSON called the House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. PRESENT Committee members present were Representatives Dyson, Whitaker, Green, Brice, Kemplen and Coghill. SUMMARY OF INFORMATION JOHN WOODWARD, Chair, State Independent Living Council, told the committee that the investment for independent living is paying dividends in the state. Eighteen people have been able to leave institutional care and many others have been able to stay out of nursing homes or hospitals since they can get care either at home or in assisted living homes. RUTH L'HOMMEDIEU, Member, State Independent Living Council, Liaison, Governor's committee on Employment and Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities, informed the committee her area of interest is in employment of people with disabilities. There is new federal legislation enacted that will remove out-dated rules on Medicaid and Medicare and improve health care benefits. Alaska has been acknowledged nationally as having foresight to be the first state to pass the Medicaid buy in. Employment of people with people with disabilities is a major issue. Given today's job market, people with disabilities still rest at the 70 percent rate of unemployment. People with disabilities want the ability to find a job and live independently within their own communities. DAVID JACOBSON, Director, Access Alaska, an independent living center in Fairbanks, talked about basic home accessible modification services available to many people but it is a problem getting these services into rural and remote areas that allow people to go to work and live safely in their communities. He urged the committee to support these services through the capital budgets for AHFC [Alaska Housing Finance Corporation], Mental Health Trust Commission, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation which will all have line items for home accessibility modifications. LINDA BJORGE runs an assisted living home in Wrangell and urged the committee to support raising the reimbursement rate. Caregivers can't stay home from work to care for people for $31 per day. PATRICK REINHART, Executive Director, State Independent Living Council, commented that they are pleased the state is going in the right direction in these areas. He urged the committee to support a self-directed consumer-run personal attendant program where the consumer trains the attendant to his/her individual needs. There is a severe shortage of personal care attendants especially in rural and remote areas. He also answered questions asked by committee members. JERIE BEST, Member, State Independent Living Council, commented on the successes on behalf of the State Independent Living Council (SILC) but brought up that the transportation issue has been a failure. There is money out there to buy vans but not to operate and maintain the vans. She suggested that the Long-term Care Task Force add transportation to their list of issues to brainstorm. She also suggested looking at highway funds and fuel taxes to pay for these services. She noted that SILC needs to take some responsibility in the area of transportation also. COMMITTEE ACTION The committee took no action. ADJOURNMENT CHAIRMAN DYSON called an at-ease at 3:40 p.m. in order to hear HB 268, HB 288 and HB 258. [The minutes for those bills are found in the 3:44 p.m. minutes for the same date.] NOTE: The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes were taken. A copy of the tape and log notes may be obtained by contacting the House Records Office at 129 6th Street, Suite 229, Juneau, Alaska 99801-2197, (907) 465-2214, and after adjournment of the second session of the Twenty-first Alaska State Legislature this information may be obtained by contacting the Legislative Reference Library at 129 6th Street, Suite 102, (907) 465-3808.