‘Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §50 is enacted to read:
§ 50. Planning for long-term care services
By January 15, 2012 and every 4 years thereafter the department, after input from interested parties, shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters on the current allocation of resources for long-term care and the goals for allocation of those resources during the next 4 years. The report must be based on current and projected demographic data, current and projected consumer needs and recent or anticipated changes in methods of delivery of long-term care services and must include any action taken by the department to further these goals and any recommendations for action by the Legislature.
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §7301, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 511, §1, is amended to read:
§ 7301. Legislative intent
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §7302, as amended by PL 2001, c. 596, Part B, §10 and affected by §25 and amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Part B, §§6 and 7, is further amended to read:
§ 7302. Definitions
As used in this subtitle, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA c. 1622 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 1622
COORDINATED IN-HOME AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
§ 7311. Program established
By July 1, 2010, the department shall establish a coordinated program, referred to in this chapter as "the program," of in-home and community support services that are available under state-funded and MaineCare-funded programs for adults with long-term care needs who are eligible for services from qualified providers pursuant to this subtitle. The program must have a unified system for intake and eligibility determination for all consumers, regardless of diagnosis, type of disability or demographic factors, including age, using the multidisciplinary teams pursuant to section 7323, consumer assessment and the development of plans of care that take into consideration the consumer's living arrangement, informal supports and services provided by other public or private funding sources to ensure nonduplication of services for consumers.
§ 7312. Rules
The department shall adopt rules as necessary for the effective administration of the program pursuant to this chapter, in accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act. In the development of such rules, the department shall consult with consumers, representatives of consumers and providers. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are major substantive rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 5. Plan for consolidated services. The Commissioner of Health and Human Services shall convene a work group of persons representing all of the significant parties, including consumers, interested in the issue of efficient and effective long-term care in the State. The purpose of the work group is to analyze the long-term care service system and to make recommendations that will assist the commissioner in designing the system that promotes consumer choice, transparency, portability and flexibility. The work group shall employ a disciplined improvement analysis and implementation approach and methodology in its work. In this process, personal care services will be reviewed to determine the extent to which the following principles are currently being met:
1. Consumers know about and have access to a full range of personal care service options;
2. Access to personal care services is expeditious;
3. Personal care services are delivered efficiently and in a manner that promotes maximum consumer choice;
4. Personal care services are transparent so that the services are easily understood by consumers and their families;
5. Personal care services are portable from one provider to another;
6. Personal care services are flexible to meet the needs of the consumer; and
7. Provider rates and worker wages are standardized to promote overall efficiency and ensure a sufficient number and quality of direct-care workers.
The work group must meet at least 3 times and provide a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services by January 15, 2010. The report must contain the work group’s recommendations for improvements in the long-term care system in the State. These recommendations must address intake and eligibility determination, consumer assessment, development of plans of care, the definition of qualified providers and the means to standardize rates and wages within the system.
Sec. 6. State plan amendment or waivers. The Department of Health and Human Services shall submit to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services any amendments or waivers needed to establish any part of a consolidated program, including a program of consumer-directed care described in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, chapter 1622.’