Senate Bill No. 402–Senators Rawson, Amodei, Care, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, O’Donnell, Schneider, Shaffer, Titus, Washington and Wiener

 

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AN ACT relating to health care; expanding the authority of the legislative committee on health care to review certain issues relating to long-term care; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

   Whereas, The requirement that persons in this state impoverish themselves to become eligible for long-term care benefits places many persons in need of long-term care in a very difficult situation when determining how to receive the health care services that they need to survive; and

   Whereas, The growing number of persons in need of long-term care is of grave concern to the legislature; and

   Whereas, Issues relating to long-term care would be most appropriately reviewed by a permanent task force; and

   Whereas, Until such a task force is established, those issues would be most appropriately reviewed by the legislative committee on health care; now therefore,

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

   Section 1. NRS 439B.220 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   439B.220  The committee may:

   1.  Review and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of programs for

 the prevention of illness.

   2.  Review and compare the costs of medical care among communities

 in Nevada with similar communities in other states.

   3.  Analyze the overall system of medical care in the state to determine

 ways to coordinate the providing of services to all members of society,

 avoid the duplication of services and achieve the most efficient use of all

 available resources.

   4.  Examine the business of providing insurance, including the

 development of cooperation with health maintenance organizations and

 organizations which restrict the performance of medical services to certain

 physicians and hospitals, and procedures to contain the costs of these

 services.

   5.  Examine hospitals to:

   (a) Increase cooperation among hospitals;

   (b) Increase the use of regional medical centers; and

   (c) Encourage hospitals to use medical procedures which do not require

 the patient to be admitted to the hospital and to use the resulting extra

 space in alternative ways.

   6.  Examine medical malpractice.

   7.  Examine the system of education to coordinate:

   (a) Programs in health education, including those for the prevention of

 illness and those which teach the best use of available medical services;

 and

   (b) The education of those who provide medical care.

   8.  Review competitive mechanisms to aid in the reduction of the costs

of medical care.

   9.  Examine the problem of providing and paying for medical care for

 indigent and medically indigent persons, including medical care provided

 by physicians.

   10.  Examine the effectiveness of any legislation enacted to accomplish

 the purpose of restraining the costs of health care while ensuring the

 quality of services, and its effect on the subjects listed in subsections 1 to

 9, inclusive.

   11.  Determine whether regulation by the state will be necessary in the

 future by examining hospitals for evidence of:

   (a) Degradation or discontinuation of services previously offered,

 including without limitation, neonatal care, pulmonary services and

 pathology services; or

   (b) A change in the policy of the hospital concerning

contracts,

as a result of any legislation enacted to accomplish the purpose of

 restraining the costs of health care while ensuring the quality of services.

   12.  Study the effect of the acuity of the care provided by a hospital

 upon the revenues of hospital and upon limitations upon that revenue.

   13.  Review the actions of the director in administering the provisions

 of this chapter and adopting regulations pursuant to those provisions. The

 director shall report to the committee concerning any regulations proposed

 or adopted pursuant to this chapter.

   14.  Identify and evaluate, with the assistance of an advisory group,

 the alternatives to institutionalization for providing long-term care,

 including, without limitation:

   (a) An analysis of the costs of the alternatives to institutionalization

 and the costs of institutionalization for persons receiving long-term care

 in this state;

   (b) A determination of the effects of the various methods of providing

 long-term care services on the quality of life of persons receiving those

 services in this state;

   (c) A determination of the personnel required for each method of

 providing long-term care services in this state; and

   (d) A determination of the methods for funding the long-term care

 services provided to all persons who are receiving or who are eligible to

 receive those services in this state.

   15.  Evaluate, with the assistance of an advisory group, the feasibility

 of obtaining a waiver from the Federal Government to integrate and

 coordinate acute care services provided through Medicare and long-term

 care services provided through Medicaid in this state.

   16.  Evaluate, with the assistance of an advisory group, the feasibility

 of obtaining a waiver from the Federal Government to eliminate the

 requirement that elderly persons in this state impoverish themselves as a

 condition of receiving assistance for long-term care.

   17. Conduct investigations and hold hearings in connection with its

 review and analysis.

   [15.] 18. Apply for any available grants and accept any gifts, grants or

donations to aid the committee in carrying out its duties pursuant to this

 chapter.

   [16.] 19. Direct the legislative counsel bureau to assist in its research,

 investigations, review and analysis.

   [17.] 20. Recommend to the legislature as a result of its review any

 appropriate legislation.

   Sec. 2.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2001.

 

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