Tag Archives for S 506

State Lawmakers Ok Many Senior Initiatives  

Published in Pawtucket Times on July 7, 2003

 As this year’s legislative session came to an end, even the widely publicized tight state budget did not keep aging advocates from seeing some of their legislative proposals get passed by the House and Senate.

With the passage of companion legislative proposals (H 5841/ S 876), the state’s long-term care ombudsman law will be revised to reflect federal law, expanding the scope and authority of the state’s ombudsman program.

The new statute changes will require the state ombudsman to represent the interests of nursing facility residents or clients of service providers before governmental agencies.

The state ombudsman will also be charged with seeking administrative, legal and other remedies to protect the health, safety, welfare and rights of Ocean State seniors.

Another legislative proposal also got the thumbs-up from lawmakers. With the passing of companion proposals  H 5418/ S 506, new state funds totaling $ 300,000 will pay for nursing facility care of legal immigrant Rhode Island seniors who ae not eligible for Medicaid.

Meanwhile, the Rhode Island General Assembly provided that it sees the value in preventative medicine and how it can ultimately save health care dollars.

The Ocean State Adult Immunization Coalition requested $ 103,000 in new state funding to expand the coalition’s efforts to get the world out about the importance of seniors getting influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations.  While not receiving the whole loaf, lawmakers gave a half loaf instead – about $ 50,000.

With state dollars now allocated up front, large savings will be realized down the road. The cost of a flu shot is $ 15 and a pneumonia shot is $ 30.

If a senior is hospitalized, the average length of stay for an older person with influenza is five days, costing $ 12,000.  That’s a huge savings.

Lawmakers also passed legislation to make pharmaceutical drugs more affordable to Rhode Island seniors.

With the passing of companion proposals H 5237/S 374, persons eligible to participate in the Rhode Island Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Elderly Program (RIPAE) who also have prescription drug coverage through a health plan, will now be allowed to use RIPAE to pay for an individual prescription drug once they reach the maximum level of coverage for that drug.

Also, companion measures H 5239/ S378 passed, expanding RIPAE to allow persons age 55 to 61 on Social Security Disability Insurance to receive a 15 percent RIPAE co-payment in addition to their RIPAE drug discount rate.

As previously reported in All About Seniors, an 18-month study of .B.D.O. Seidman, a consulting firm hired by the state Department of Human Services, found that Rhode Island was underpaying its nursing facilities in excess of $ 30 million annually.

It seems that the General Assembly agreed with that report’s assessment and made a partial allocation of new Medicaid dollars to overhaul the state’s ailing Medicaid system.

With the passage of the state’s budget, nursing facilities will receive a total of $ 18.8 million in state and federal dollars – a three-year phase in will bring the total federal and state dollars to $30 million.

On the other hand, some aging agenda items went down in flames.

Aging advocates called on Gov. Don Carcieri and state lawmakers to allocate taxpayer dollars in the FY 2004 budget to allow more low-and moderate-income persons to choose Medicaid waiver-funded assisted living.

Although the federal government has already approved an additional 180 units in the state’s Medicaid assisted living waiver program, state funding of this initiative is required.

No funding in this year’s budget ensures that low-and- moderate income seniors will continue to be denied an option of choosing a less restrictive level of care, an option that higher income seniors have.

Additionally, lawmakers chose not to pass companion proposals (H 5478/ S 299) which would have allowed Rhode Island residents to buy prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies, where they are routine cheaper.

Finally, in the aftermath of the tragic Station nightclub fire, the General Assembly and governor moved quickly to tighten regulations and to hire additional staffing at the Fire Marshal’s office to protect the patrons of bars and restaurants from fire.  However, beefing up the state Department of Health’s regulatory oversight of the Ocean State’s assisted living facilities, where 3,700 plus seniors reside, did not receive one dime in funding in the FY 2004 budget.

An assisted-living provider group, aging advocates, the Long-Term Coordinating Council, the state ombudsman and officials at the state Department of Health, have all called for new state dollars to fill one full-time surveyor position ( a nurse) to ensure that assisted living residences across Rhode Island are inspected on a timelier basis.

Last year, state lawmakers passed legislation to protect frail Rhode Island seniors who receive assisted-living services.

As this legislative session ends, the governor and General Assembly have failed to allocate the necessary funding in the FY 2004 state budget to fully implement state law that would result in the inspection of the state’s 72 assisted-living facilities and 155 assisted-living beds in nursing facilities in a timely manner.

According to the state’s Department of Health, another seven assisted-living projects are expected to be up and running over the next 18 months.

The ball now moves to Carcieri’s court to either use contingency funds in his office budget or to take administrative action to hire more assisted-living inspectors.

While it has been reported that the governor is amenable to using funds flushed out by his “fiscal fitness program” to pay for a new surveyor position, the time to act is now, rather than later.

Acting now to fix this policy glitch is sound public policy.  I am sure that Rhode Island seniors and taxpayers will agree.

Senior Advocates Push Legislation That Would Save State Money

Published in the Pawtucket Times on April 14, 2003

While the Rhode Island General Assembly is tackling hot-potato political issues like separation of powers and gambling, hundreds of bills have been thrown into the legislation hopper. Senior advocates are tracking about 13 legislative priorities in the 2003 legislative session.

Lawmakers are considering a wide array of legislation -creating long-term care tax credits, expending the Rhode Island Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Elderly Program, strengthening the state’s ombudsman’s office and ratcheting up Medicaid payments to nursing facility providers. One bill would establish special funds to care for severely disabled (age 65 and over) legal immigrant elders who are not eligible for Medicaid.

As they deal with a huge state budget deficit, Gov. Don Carcieri and lawmakers will be wary of enacting legislation that will have a fiscal impact on the state coffers.

But senior advocates are pushing for enactment of several legislative proposals that are either budget neutral or will actually save taxpayer dollars.

One legislative proposal (H 5841/S 876) that would create revisions to the state long-term care ombudsman law to expand the scope and authority for this state’s elderly advocate.

“Previously, the Rhode Island state statute has not reflected federal law, and this bill remedies that oversight,” said Roberta Hawkins, executive director of the Alliance for Better Long-Term Care and  state ombudsman, who noted federal law requires each state’s ombudsman statute to reflect the federal Older American Act.  Currently, Rhode Island’s statute does not.

Hawkins said the proposed statute changes also add additional duties authorized by the federal Older Americans Act to those required of the ombudsman under Rhode Island law. Companion bills introduced in the House and Senate call for the state ombudsman to represent the interest of nursing facility residents or clients of service providers before  government agencies, and to seek administrative, legal and  other remedies to protect their health, safety, welfare and rights.

They also mandate that the state ombudsman review and comment on any existing and proposed laws, regulations and state policies impacting nursing facility residents and clients of service providers.

The legislative proposals would make a new section of the state ombudsman law that fines a person up to $ 1,000 who willfully interferes with the ombudsman duties.

At press time, these bills were approved by the House’s Health Education and Welfare Committee and the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee for consideration for floor action at a later date.

Meanwhile, Susan Sweet, an elder rights advocate who also consults for nonprofit agencies, noted two legislative proposals would actually save the state money while providing more appropriate services to older Rhode Islanders.

Sweet said these legislative proposals (H 5246/ S 314) would require the Department of Human Resources to reallocate funds to support already federally-approved assisted-living support services. At present, more than 35 people have qualified for this program but still remain in costly nursing facilities (at $ 130 per day) rather than reside in assisted living facilities which cost approximately 50 percent what the state is paying for nursing facility services.

At press time, these legislative proposals are still under consideration in the Senate and House Finance committees.

“If the General Assembly fails to enact funding for federally approved assisted living services, I would hope they would reallocate resources to at least allow those currently on the waiting list – some of whom are already in  nursing facilities costing the state twice as much = to be under the waiver,” said Sweet. “This would save half of the money currently being paid while providing these elders a better quality of life.”

Another legislative proposal (H 5418/ S 506) said Sweet, would establish a fund for severely disabled elderly legal immigrant Rhode Island residents who are not eligible for Medicaid.

Presently, these legal elderly immigrants receive care only from hospital. Sweet said there are currently four or five of these disabled elders residing at Eleanor Slater Hospital at a cost to taxpayers of $ 749 per day per person. If this legislation were enacted, these severely disabled elders could be transferred to a nursing home at the Medicaid rate of less than $100 per day.

At press time, these legislative proposals are still under consideration in the Senate and House finance committees.

Sweet noted the requested allocations for placement in nursing facilities for disabled elders who are legal immigrants is just $ 250,000 a year.

“Considering that we know that care for one persona at Eleanor Slater Hospital costs the state $ 749 per day, more than $ 273,000 annually passage of this bill is a no-brainer,” says Sweet. “In times when money is tight, there is more reason to save money while providing more appropriate services to our elders.”

In the shadow of a huge budget deficit, the Rhode Island General Assembly now has the opportunity the state money. They should seize the day by enacting they legislative proposals.