1-1     By:  Maxey, Naishtat, Wohlgemuth                       H.B. No. 663

 1-2          (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief)

 1-3           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 14, 1997;

 1-4     April 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Health

 1-5     and Human Services; May 7, 1997, reported favorably by the

 1-6     following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0; May 7, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-8                                   AN ACT

 1-9     relating to the assessment of needs of individuals served by

1-10     long-term care services programs offered by health and human

1-11     services agencies.

1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-13           SECTION 1.  DEFINITIONS.  In this Act:

1-14                 (1)  "Commission" means the Health and Human Services

1-15     Commission.

1-16                 (2)  "Pilot program" means the pilot program for

1-17     consistent functional needs assessment established under this Act.

1-18           SECTION 2.  PILOT PROGRAM FOR CONSISTENT FUNCTIONAL NEEDS

1-19     ASSESSMENT.  (a)  Subject to Section 3 of this Act, the commission

1-20     shall develop a  functional needs assessment pilot program to

1-21     determine the feasibility of a consistent process to be used by

1-22     long-term care services programs in this state to assess the needs

1-23     of populations served by the programs. The consistent functional

1-24     needs assessment process must be appropriate to the needs of the

1-25     populations served by long-term care services programs in this

1-26     state and must be based on the functional needs of an individual

1-27     for assistance, rather than the origin of the individual's

1-28     disability or the individual's diagnosis or age.

1-29           (b)  In developing the consistent functional needs assessment

1-30     process, the commission shall consult with:

1-31                 (1)  advocacy groups representing individuals served by

1-32     long-term care services programs in this state and the families of

1-33     those individuals;

1-34                 (2)  providers of services to individuals served by

1-35     long-term care services programs;

1-36                 (3)  representatives of state agencies that provide

1-37     long-term care services programs or that would otherwise be

1-38     affected by implementation of the consistent functional needs

1-39     assessment process; and

1-40                 (4)  other appropriate individuals and entities.

1-41           (c)  The commission shall conduct the pilot program using a

1-42     test population that is representative of the types of populations

1-43     who are enrolled in or who seek enrollment in long-term care

1-44     services programs in this state.

1-45           SECTION 3.  FUNDING.  The commission shall solicit and may

1-46     accept gifts and grants of money, property, or services to develop,

1-47     implement, and administer the pilot program and may not conduct the

1-48     pilot program unless it obtains adequate funding from these

1-49     sources.

1-50           SECTION 4.  REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.  (a)  Not later than

1-51     November 1, 1998, the commission shall report the preliminary

1-52     results of the pilot program to the legislature.

1-53           (b)  Not later than November 1, 2000, the commission shall

1-54     report to the legislature on the feasibility of implementation of

1-55     the consistent functional needs assessment process developed under

1-56     this Act.

1-57           SECTION 5.  EXPIRATION DATE.  This Act expires September 1,

1-58     2001.

1-59           SECTION 6.  EMERGENCY.  The importance of this legislation

1-60     and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-61     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-62     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-63     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

1-64     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

 2-1     passage, and it is so enacted.

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