During the 2023-24 interim session, the Legislative Committee on Senior Citizens, Veterans and Adults With Special Needs heard a presentation from Connie McMullen, representing the Personal Care Association of Nevada.  During this presentation, it was stated that, although the Nevada Waiver for the Frail Elderly has been in place since 1992, it is lacking provisions for a variety of services that were temporarily instated during the Covid-19 pandemic.  This Waiver allows elderly people of 65 or older to retain a sense of independence by remaining in their homes while receiving care they otherwise would need to be in a nursing facility to have access to. This waiver currently supports the following services: Case Management, Homemaker Services, Chore Services, Respite, Personal Emergency Response System (PERS), Adult Day Care Services, Adult Companion Services, Augmented Personal Care provided in Residential Facility for Groups or Assisted Living settings, and Home Delivered Meals.  Funding for nutrition was added to this list during the pandemic emergency assistance period, but it has since stopped. There is a strong desire and need in the community for this funding to continue. This bill proposes that more attendant care services for frail elderly persons be implemented into the waiver.

To switch gears, AB 338 also presents a solution for communication struggles between agencies providing personal care services and the people trying to access those services.  Currently, it’s very difficult for people looking to find the kind of care available to them to navigate the Health Care, Quality and Compliance website.

 I will now briefly summarize the bill, and explain how the sections address the problems I’ve just mentioned.

Section Review  There are four sections in this Bill. It’s necessary for the Department of Health and Human Services to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for a waiver that provides federal financial participation.

Section 1 of this bill requires such an application, which will propose an amendment to the home and community based services waiver. This amendment will authorize the state to receive federal funds to partially cover the cost of attendant care services for frail elderly persons. These services include: bathing, grooming, toiliting, moving about, dressing, and eating.

Section 3 establishes section 1 as the responsibility of the divisions of the department to administer in the same manner as the other provisions governed by Medicaid. This bill will also establish an interagency  website that allows agencies providing care services in the home to connect with people interested in obtaining those services.

Section 2 of this bill  requires the collaboration of  the Aging and Disability Services Division of the Department of HHS and the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the Department of HHS to establish this website. In their presentation on the Medicaid access rule, the Personal Care Association of Nevada stated that such an informational website would “foster transparent communication and information between agencies, care givers, care recipients, and various state entities”.

This website would simplify this vulnerable population’s ability to understand and access the care available to them. Each agency on the proposed website would be required to include:

• The location and contact information of the agency
• The locations where the agency provides services
• The services and level of care provided by the agencies
• Any disciplinary action that’s ever been imposed against the agency, AND
• The types of insurance accepted by the agency.

Section 4 of this bill simply covers when each section of the bill will become effective if this is passed and approved. I’d now like to turn this presentation over to Connie McMullen, who will provide more information about the need for, and the implementation of, these proposed changes.

Closing Remarks  Thank you for the opportunity to present this bill today. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.