HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 36

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Rick Miera

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF THE NEW MEXICO LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE LEGISLATURE REGARDING THE EXPANSION OF THE NEW MEXICO LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM TO SERVE PERSONS RECEIVING CARE AND SERVICES AT HOME.

     WHEREAS, the number of New Mexicans over age sixty-five is rapidly increasing and is projected to increase by nearly fifty percent in the next ten years; and

     WHEREAS, from 2005 to 2009, the aging and long-term services department stated that the number of New Mexico residents receiving home and community-based services increased by four hundred forty percent; and

     WHEREAS, by 2020, twenty-eight percent of New Mexicans will be seniors and people with disabilities, individuals who are most likely to need long-term services, and by 2030, that number will be thirty-five percent; and

     WHEREAS, nearly seventy-nine percent of people who need long-term care live at home or in community settings, not in institutions; and

     WHEREAS, the American association of retired persons found that eighty percent of older individuals preferred to live at home; and

     WHEREAS, the money follows the person rebalancing demonstration program grant, recently awarded to New Mexico, could result in more people receiving care at home and expand community-based alternatives to institutional long-term care; and

     WHEREAS, the tenth anniversary of the Olmstead decision has prompted renewed commitment by the federal government to support and affirm the civil rights of individuals with disabilities to live independently in their communities with appropriate support services put in place; and

     WHEREAS, more than eighty-three percent of medicaid spending on long-term care covers care that is provided to people in their homes or in the community; and

     WHEREAS, providing long-term services and support at home and in the community saves the state money because care at home is generally less expensive than care in a nursing home; and

     WHEREAS, there is currently no advocacy program to act on behalf of people receiving home and community-based services in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico long-term care ombudsman program helps consumers learn what services are available to them and improves access to services; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico long-term care ombudsman program handles complaints over a wide range of issues facing consumers, including care concerns, housing and medicaid; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico long-term care ombudsman program has a history of successfully resolving problems for residents in long-term care facilities; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico long-term care ombudsman program has experience with home care advocacy through its successful transition advocacy program, which assists residents with moving out of the nursing home and into the community;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the office of the New Mexico long-term care ombudsman program of the aging and long-term services department be requested to convene a work group to study the feasibility of expanding the long-term care ombudsman program to independently advocate for individuals receiving services in the home; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group include representatives from the department of health, the aging and long-term services department, the governor's commission on disability, the veterans' services department, the Indian affairs department, the medical assistance division of the human services department, home health care consumers, home health care consumer advocates, home care providers and the managed care organizations responsible for the administration of benefits to consumers receiving services at home and in the community; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group provide opportunities for comments and recommendations from consumers and all stakeholders that could be impacted by expansion of the ombudsman services; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group develop a report with findings and recommendations; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group present its report to the governor, the legislative finance committee and the interim legislative health and human services committee by December 2013; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the legislative finance committee, the interim legislative health and human services committee, the New Mexico legislative council, the secretary of human services, the secretary of health and the secretary of aging and long-term services.

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