By McDonald                                           H.B. No. 2698
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to a vision statement and guiding principles for the
    1-3  provision of long-term care services.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes, is amended
    1-6  by adding Section 10A to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 10A.  LONG-TERM CARE VISION STATEMENT.  In the provision
    1-8  of long-term care services, it is the vision of the people of Texas
    1-9  that persons with functional limitations have access to
   1-10  individualized long-term care services of their choice that assist
   1-11  them in maintaining and achieving the greatest possible
   1-12  independence, autonomy and quality of life.  It should be the
   1-13  policy of the state that children grow up in families and elderly
   1-14  persons live in the setting of their choice.
   1-15              (1)  Individual Principles.
   1-16                    (a)  People needing assistance will have the
   1-17  maximum possible control over their services;
   1-18                    (b)  People needing assistance and their families
   1-19  will be able to choose from a broad, comprehensive array of
   1-20  services designed to meet individual needs;
   1-21                    (c)  People needing assistance and their families
   1-22  will have the easiest possible access to appropriate care and
   1-23  supports, regardless of the area of the state in which they live.
    2-1              (2)  System Principles.
    2-2                    (a)  In order to provide an adequate array of
    2-3  services that affords choice and control by the people needing
    2-4  assistance, the state will emphasize the development of home- and
    2-5  community-based services and housing alternatives to complement the
    2-6  long-term care services already in existence;
    2-7              (b)  Services will be of the highest possible quality,
    2-8  with a minimum amount of regulation, structure and complexity at
    2-9  the service level;
   2-10              (c)  Service delivery will be based on the belief that
   2-11  maximum independence and autonomy represent major goals, and with
   2-12  those comes a certain degree of risk;
   2-13              (d)  Resources will be maximized to the greatest extent
   2-14  possible, and consumer will receive only those services they prefer
   2-15  and which are indicated by a functional assessment of need.
   2-16              (e)  The service delivery system will be structured to
   2-17  support these goals, and any necessary complexity of the system
   2-18  will be at the administrative level, not at the client level.
   2-19              (f)  HHSC will coordinate state services to ensure that
   2-20  the roles and responsibilities of the agencies providing long-term
   2-21  care are clarified, and duplication of services and resources is
   2-22  minimized.
   2-23        Sec. 10B.  DEFINITION OF LONG-TERM CARE.  As used in Sec.
   2-24  10A, "long-term care" means the provision of personal care and
   2-25  assistance related to health and social services, given over a
    3-1  sustained time, to assist people of all ages and their families to
    3-2  achieve the highest level of functioning possible, regardless of
    3-3  the setting in which care is given.
    3-4        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
    3-5  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    3-6  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    3-7  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    3-8  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
    3-9  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   3-10  passage, and it is so enacted.