Grant, task force on aging advanced

A bill that would create a statewide task force on aging and seek federal grant funds advanced from general file Feb. 26 after several days of debate.

Under LB690, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, the state Department of Health and Human Services would be required by Sept. 1, 2014, to apply for a federal grant to fund the development of a comprehensive and coordinated system of home and community based long-term care services.

The bill also would create the Aging Nebraskans Task Force to facilitate implementation of the statewide strategic plan for addressing the needs of Nebraska’s aging population. The nine-member task force would include stakeholders as well as representatives of each of the three branches of state government and would report its recommendations to the Legislature by Dec. 15, 2014.

A Health and Human Services Committee amendment, adopted 40-4 on Feb. 25, would terminate the task force on June 30, 2016, unless extended by the Legislature. The amendment also specifies that legislative members of the task force’s executive committee would be voting members, while the other members would be nonvoting.

Bolz said the bill would allow Nebraska to access federal funds that would provide the state with a four-to-one return on money currently spent on programs for the aging. An application for the federal grant must be made by the end of the year, she said, with the goal of incentivizing states to direct their aging populations toward home and community-based services rather than nursing home care.

“At the end of the day, we know that our aging population is booming and we should plan for it,” Bolz said, adding that the percentage of Nebraska’s population over age 65 is expected to increase by 74 percent in the next 20 years.

Increasing that population’s access to more affordable services is the goal of the bill, Bolz said, adding that the average per person per year cost for home and community-based care is $2,316, while nursing home care can cost $56,000 per person per year.

Scottsbluff Sen. John Harms supported the bill. He said developing strategies to help Nebraska’s aging population stay at home rather than enter nursing facilities is central to addressing the needs of the state’s aging population.

“We need to get ahead of that issue and start to put together a model program for people who are growing older,” Harms said. “It is a problem that’s coming and we need to get ahead of it now because you can’t do it in a time of crisis.”

Omaha Sen. Heath Mello said the bill would be key to slowing the growth of Medicaid spending in Nebraska. The state must provide care for the elderly, he said, regardless of their ability to pay.

“Sixty-five percent of all Medicaid spending [in Nebraska] is for the aged and disabled,” he said. “The reality is that the way the Medicaid system is structured, without LB690, without this grant, we’re going to continue to spend money.”

Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial questioned whether home and community-based care is superior to nursing care, as well as the wisdom of utilizing federal funds to support their provision.

“We’ve got a totally out-of-control money-spending machine in Washington,” Christensen said.

Omaha Sen. Bob Krist said Nebraska would lose $36 million of federal funding by failing to apply for the grant. He said the state has used federal funding in the past for a variety of purposes and should take advantage of the current opportunity.

“We send that money to [Washington,] D.C. and we bring it back to provide for the citizens of our state,” he said. “We cannot do this on our own; we need to take some of those federal dollars back.”

Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion offered and later withdrew an amendment that would have removed all provisions of the bill except establishment of the task force. He said the state should not rush into applying for grant funds and should be leery of accepting federal dollars. Lawmakers should proceed based on their own time frame, he said.

“Let’s figure out what works for Nebraska to address the needs of our seniors as they age,” Kintner said.

Bolz opposed the amendment, saying federal funds simply would help the state pay for services it already is providing.

“We should jump at the chance to take more federal funds to do it even better,” she said.

Senators voted 31-11 to advance LB690 to select file.