Chief Patron: Callahan
Co-Patron(s): Almand, Brink, Darner
Assisted Living Pilot Project

Item 295 #5h

Language
Page 229, line 25, strike "$18,551,442" and insert "$18,701,442".
Page 229, line 25, strike "$18,551,442" and insert "$18,701,442".
Page 230, after line 14, insert:
"H.1. Out of the appropriation for this item $150,000 the first year and $150,000 the second year shall be provided from the general fund for a demonstration project to pay for an average of one and one-half hours of in-home care services for residents of Culpepper Garden III who have no assets and monthly incomes of $1,200 or less, and who require assistance with at least two activities of daily living.  The demonstration project will determine the costs and benefits to the Commonwealth of providing care subsidies to assisted living facilities for frail elderly Medicaid-eligible individuals who need assistance with two or more activities of daily living.  A control group of frail elderly living in another Culpepper Garden unit whose ages, incomes, and assisted care needs are similar to those living in Culpepper Garden III shall be identified and evaluated to compare costs to the Commonwealth for in-home care.  
2. Out of the amounts appropriated in paragraph H.1. $50,000 the first year and $50,000 the second year from the general fund
shall be provided for the Department for the Aging to contract with an independent gerontology research group to design and evaluate the demonstration project.  The contract shall include provisions for annual reports on the design of and findings on the project.
3.  The Departments of Health, Medical Assistance Services, and Social Services shall, to the extent allowed by federal law, evaluator claims, expenditure, and service level data for individuals participating in the demonstration program in either the experimental or control group in order to assess the costs and benefits of the project to the Commonwealth.
4.  It is the intent of the General Assembly that this pilot project be conducted over a five-year period.  The Department for the Aging shall report on the design and progress of the demonstration project by December 1 each year to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees until the project has been completed.

Explanation
(This amendment provides funding for the first two years of a five-year assisted living demonstration project to determine the costs and benefits to the Commonwealth of providing state subsidies to assisted living facilities to provide in-home care to frail elderly who need assistance with two or more activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, toileting, and mobility.)