HB1318: relative to a senior care provider program and making an appropriation therefor.

HB 1318-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-2264

01/09

HOUSE BILL 1318-FN-A

AN ACT relative to a senior care provider program and making an appropriation therefor.

SPONSORS: Rep. Campbell, Straf 68

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill requires the commissioner of the department of health and human services to establish guidelines and to monitor a 2-year senior care provider program. The pilot program shall be implemented in 2 communities, one in Strafford county and one in Belknap county. The commissioner is granted rulemaking authority to implement the provisions of the bill.

The bill makes an appropriation for the start-up costs of the pilot program.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-2264

01/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT relative to a senior care provider program and making an appropriation therefor.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Pilot Program Established.

I. The commissioner of the department of health and human services shall establish guidelines for and shall monitor a 2-year pilot program for senior care to match elderly persons with other persons who are willing to provide care for such elderly persons. The program shall be modeled after the home care provider program. The pilot program shall be implemented in 2 communities, one in Strafford county and one in Belknap county, and shall be administered on a local level by a nonprofit entity in each county. This pilot program shall terminate 2 years after the first date of operation of the program, as certified by the commissioner of health and human services to the secretary of state, unless authorized to continue by the legislature.

II. The commissioner shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:

(a) The application process and fees for such process.

(b) Eligibility requirements and matching criteria necessary to match elderly persons with persons to provide senior care.

(c) Length of time and content of agreements.

(d) The communities where the pilot program is to be implemented, the manner of implementation, and the procedure for selecting a nonprofit entity in each county.

(e) Any other matter necessary to the administration of this act.

III. The commissioner of health and human services may accept grants and moneys from any source and may expend such grants and moneys for the purposes of the program.

2 Report. The commissioner of the department of health and human services shall make an interim report on or before January, 1, 2006, and a final report on or before the termination date of the pilot program to the speaker of the house, the senate president, and the governor, on the commissioner's activities, findings, and recommendations relative to the pilot program.

3 Appropriation. The sum of $50,000 is hereby appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, to the department of health and human services for start-up costs associated with the pilot program established in section 1 of this act. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

LBAO

03-2264

7/24/03

HB 1318-FN-A - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to a senior care provider program and making an appropriation therefor.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of Health and Human Services stated this bill will increase state revenue and expenditures and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2005 and FY 2006. There will be no fiscal impact on county revenue or local revenue and expenditures.

This bill appropriates $50,000 in state general funds in FY 2005 to the Department of Health and Human Services for the start-up costs of the pilot program.

METHODOLOGY:

The Department assumed the appropriation in this bill will be used to develop the program, including the administration by local non-profit entities, and will not cover the cost of services to recipients. There will be additional costs to the state associated with eligibility determinations and certification of providers. The Department further assumed the senior care provider program would cover private paying as well as Medicaid eligible clients. The Department is not able to determine the number of individuals that will chose to become providers or the number of participants in the pilot program. The Department stated that although the program will be new, the services provided would be supported by funds currently budgeted for home and community-based care.