By: Barrientos S.C.R. No. 56 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, Approximately 94,700 Texans resided in nursing homes 1-2 in 1992; and 1-3 WHEREAS, Of that number, approximately 64,700 have their care 1-4 paid for by Medicaid; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Acuity of illness affects the intensity and type of 1-6 care needed by a nursing home resident; and 1-7 WHEREAS, The population in Texas is aging, with the 1-8 proportion of persons over 65 years of age projected to be 11.4 1-9 percent or more than two million persons by the year 2000; and 1-10 WHEREAS, As people are living longer and medical technologies 1-11 are becoming more advanced, nursing home residents' needs become 1-12 more specialized with age; and 1-13 WHEREAS, It is projected that 40 percent of all people who 1-14 live beyond 65 years of age will spend some time in a nursing home; 1-15 and 1-16 WHEREAS, Projections are that 77,220 Texans will require 1-17 Medicaid nursing home care in the year 2000; and 1-18 WHEREAS, Texas is one of only three states in the United 1-19 States which still reimburses nursing homes by a flat rate system; 1-20 and 1-21 WHEREAS, Many of those persons in nursing homes dependent on 1-22 Medicaid funds must now cope with serious debilitating illnesses 1-23 such as Alzheimer's disease and AIDS; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Approximately 50 percent of all nursing home 2-2 patients are victims of Alzheimer's disease; and 2-3 WHEREAS, Diseases such as Alzheimer's and AIDS require 2-4 intensive behavioral intervention and rehabilitative services 2-5 available at nursing homes; now, therefore, be it 2-6 RESOLVED, That the 73rd Legislature respectfully direct the 2-7 Texas Department of Human Services to develop and implement an 2-8 appropriate case-mix reimbursement system that adequately meets the 2-9 needs of all subacute and cognitively impaired patients, such as 2-10 those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and AIDS.