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.