[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 62 (Thursday, April 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCING THE COMMISSION ON IMPROVING LONG-TERM CARE AND COMMUNITY 
                          SERVICES ACT OF 2010

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 29, 2010

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the 
Commission on Improving Long-term Care and Community Services Act of 
2010.
  Long-term care is a broad range of health and social services that is 
used by people who cannot care for themselves independently because 
they live with a physical, cognitive, or mental disability. Well over 
9.4 million adults receive long-term care in the United States and this 
number is expected to rise. Longer life spans among the chronically ill 
and disabled, and higher incidences of acquired disabilities from 
unmanaged conditions such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, obesity and heart 
disease project an increase in our reliance on long-term care. States 
with significant elder populations like Florida know the importance of 
ensuring that our health care system is well equipped to provide 
adequate long-term care services.
  Last year, I introduced H. Res. 271, a resolution that expressed the 
need for a national strategy on long-term care, and the necessity of 
including long-term care in comprehensive health care reform. Many 
agreed that addressing the state of long-term care and community 
services is critically important to improving our health care system. 
However, concerns about the potentially high cost of implementing 
corrective measures stymied efforts to aggressively tackle the problem 
in the health reform bill.
  The inclusion of long-term care insurance in the health reform bill 
is helpful, but it cannot serve as a substitution for comprehensively 
addressing long-term care and community services issues. Too many 
patients and families are enduring the physical, emotional and 
financial consequences of accessing long-term care in a system that is 
in dire need of improvement. The lack of streamlined standards and 
dominant payment methods for long-term care have left the system 
handicapped: depriving countless people of much needed services and 
placing a tremendous financial and emotional burden on families and 
caregivers. And yet, there has never been a national plan for long-term 
care, and nearly 20 years have passed since Congress comprehensively 
reviewed long-term care policy.
  The Commission on Improving Long-Term Care and Community Services Act 
of 2010 is a cost-effective way to ensure that we comprehensively 
address long-term care and community services policy in the U.S. and 
U.S. territories. My bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to establish a National Commission on Improving Long-Term Care 
and Services. The Commission will be composed of a variety of Federal 
and national stakeholders that will construct a comprehensive strategy 
on how to increase the affordability, accessibility and effectiveness 
of long-term care and community services in the U.S. and U.S. 
territories. The Commission's policy recommendations must consider 
cost, geography, culture, transportation, workforce and other factors 
that influence access to care.
  And, the Commission's strategy must also provide guidelines on how to 
combat waste, fraud and abuse by long-term care providers, address 
flaws in Medicare reimbursement policies, increase access to home and 
community-based services through Medicaid, and promote fiscally 
responsible ways to finance long-term care. The Commission on Improving 
Long-term Care and Community Services has two years to submit a report 
to the President, Congress and the general public about their 
recommendations and findings.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the 
National Commission on Improving Long-term Care and Community Services 
Act of 2010 and truly invest in the welfare of our Nation's health and 
health care system.

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