Community consortium project

A demonstration project that would allow three older adult services community consortiums to pool health care funds for long-term care was approved March 28 by the House Finance Committee.

HF3955, sponsored by Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Mpls), would allow the human services, health and housing finance commissioners to develop a three-year demonstration project by July 1, 2009. The consortiums may consist of health care and social service providers, county agencies, health plan companies and other stakeholders to create a joint decision-making process to pool funds and provide flexibility in distributing health care money. An evaluation report would be given to the Legislature by Jan. 15, 2013, on the performance of the projects.

Each project would be designed to:

• ensure consumer access to a continuum of older care services;

• create an adequate supply of affordable home-based alternatives to care for those in nursing facilities, or those needing a facility in the future;

• establish and achieve measurable performance targets for care delivery; and

• support the management of chronic and complex conditions through greater coordination of all services needed by older adults.

Also under the bill, consortiums would be given priority for technology-related grants, financially feasible projects to create or preserve affordable housing options for older adults and distribution of transportation-related funds to create options for older adults.

Funding would come, in part, from appropriations to the nursing home moratorium exceptions process for the biennium ending in June 30, 2011. According to the fiscal note prepared by the Department of Finance, $3 million was appropriated by the Legislature for nursing home moratorium projects during the 2008-09 biennium. The health commissioner could reserve 10 percent of those funds to distribute to projects of the consortium.

The bill now goes to the House Ways and Means Committee.

A companion bill, SF3673, sponsored by Sen. Tony Lourey (DFL-Kerrick), awaits action by the Senate Finance Committee.