House Republican Press Release

 

 

 

June 30, 2008

Press Office: 860-240-8700

 

A VIEW FROM THE INSIDE

State Representative Ruth Fahrbach

 

Legislature addressed some health,
human services issues this session

 

During the 2008 regular legislative session, the General Assembly addressed a number of issues regarding health and human services. Many of these initiatives came before me in my role as a member of the Public Health Committee.

 

One of the better bills the legislature passed was the “Money Follows the Person” law. This act increases, from 700 to 5,000, the number of individuals who can be served under the state's plan for participating in the federal Money Follows the Person (MFP) program. Money Follows the Person is a five-year program that permits states to move people out of nursing homes or other institutional settings into less-restrictive, community-based settings. The Department of Social Services (DSS) has developed a protocol for the demonstration program, which still needs federal approval before it can be implemented.

 

The act requires, instead of allows, the DSS commissioner to apply for approval. The act also requires the commissioner to develop a plan to establish and administer a similar home- and community-based services project for adults who may not meet the MFP requirements.

 

With regard to Hospice coverage, S.B. 558 requires the Department of Social Services to provide Medicaid clients with a full range of hospice services beginning Jan. 1, 2009. Currently, the state provides Medicaid-funded home health care services but not the full range of hospice-type benefits required by state plan services. Under federal Medicaid law, states have the option to cover these services, and DSS must now change the state Medicaid plan to provide the new coverage.

 

The Small Nursing Home Initiative directs DSS to establish a pilot program to help develop up to 10 small-house nursing homes in the state. The pilot’s goals are to improve the quality of life for nursing home residents and provide nursing home care in home-like settings.

 

Licensed nursing homes can apply to DSS to participate in the pilot program and to relocate existing Medicaid certified beds to a small-house nursing home. Applicants must submit the following: 1) a project description and budget; (2) information on their financial and technical capacity to undertake the project; (3) information that the bed relocation reduces the number of nursing home beds in the state; (4) any additional information DSS deems necessary. 

 

Another new law with regard to supportive housing (S.B. 559) authorizes the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to provide an additional 500 “Next Steps” supportive housing units for people with mental illness. Funding for these units comes from mortgages, tax credits, and grants from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) and the Department of Economic and Community Development. The act authorizes the state to provide annual debt service payments on an additional $35 million in bonds issued by CHFA.

 

This most recent legislative session was not a terribly productive one, especially with regard to reducing the tax burden on Connecticut residents, however the General Assembly did accomplish some worthwhile achievements, as detailed in this column.

   

State Rep. Ruth Fahrbach represents the 61st District, including Suffield, and parts of Windsor and East Granby, in the General Assembly.