Alzheimer’s state plan added to aging and disabled needs bill
A bill seeking to improve access to existing services and support for Nebraskans who are aging or disabled was amended and advanced from general file March 24.
LB320, as introduced by Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, would establish resource centers to provide information on long-term care services for aging and disabled Nebraskans and their family members and caregivers.
A Health and Human Services Committee amendment, adopted 26-0, replaced the bill. As amended, LB320 would create three demonstration projects for Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) to evaluate the feasibility of establishing such centers statewide.
The state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) would be required to award ADRC grants to area agencies on aging to participate in the demonstration project. Agencies would be chosen based on a proposal process and would be reimbursed for their participation.
Among other services, the demonstration project centers would provide:
• personal options counseling;
• mobility management;
• a home care provider registry; and
• assistance in accessing and applying for public benefits programs.
The project would operate through June 30, 2018. DHHS would be required to contract for an evaluation of the project, and would report to the Legislature by Dec. 1, 2016, and again by Sept. 30, 2018.
Bolz said improved coordination and early planning are key to better serving the state’s aging and disabled populations. Nebraska needs to do a better job of directing people to community-based services that will allow them to live independently longer, she said.
Nebraska ranks 35th in the nation in provision of home and community-based services, Bolz said, adding that LB320 would pay for itself by keeping people from entering nursing home-level care facilities.
“This kind of approach will help us to best utilize both public and private resources,” she said.
Lincoln Sen. Kathy Campbell supported the bill and the amendment, saying Nebraska’s population age 65 and older is expected to grow from approximately 246,000 to over 324,000 by 2020. The state needs to proactively prepare for that growth, she said.
“This is an extremely practical solution to making sure that our aging Nebraskans across the state get the information that they need and, if at all possible, to keep them in their homes—safe and healthy,” Campbell said.
Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward spoke in favor of the bill and the amendment, saying the state’s area agencies on aging are the right venue to coordinate the state’s response to the needs of its aging and disabled populations.
“They just do a wonderful job,” Kolterman said. “And if they had the resources that are needed, they could do a lot more.”
Hyannis Sen. Al Davis brought an amendment, originally introduced as LB405, which would develop a state Alzheimer’s plan. The amendment would require the Aging Nebraskans Task Force to develop a state plan to address the needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s and related disorders.
The task force would deliver the plan to the governor and the Legislature by Dec. 15, 2016. The amendment also would extend the task force termination date to Jan. 1, 2017, to accommodate work on the state plan.
In developing a state plan, the task force would:
• determine existing services and resources in the state;
• develop recommendations to respond to escalating needs;
• examine quality of care measures for service delivery; and
• develop strategies to identify gaps in services.
Davis said over 40,000 Nebraskans are expected to be affected by Alzheimer’s by 2025. Many of them live in small communities with little access to needed resources, he said, making statewide coordination of services especially important.
“Nebraska is one of five states that does not have a state plan for those with Alzheimer’s,” he said.
The Davis amendment was adopted 27-0 and LB320 advanced to select file on a vote of 27-1.
