Section 5.402. Purpose

The purpose of the Council is to:

(1) Assist the Governor in assuring that long term care services are developed and managed in a coordinated manner. The Council is the vehicle through which planning and policymaking for long term care will be conducted.

(2) Develop a State plan for long term care that will include background information, examination of options and recommendations for action in the area of long term care that will address:

(i) A definition of long term care for use by Commonwealth departments, including a comprehensive list of services which are part of a continuum of care, the settings in which care may be delivered and methodologies to assure that care provided by the Commonwealth-financed system is accessible and appropriate.

(ii) An assessment of the need for long term care services in this Commonwealth now and in the foreseeable future, and inventory of resources and services currently employed, and estimate of the costs for services and infrastructure needed to fill gaps.

(iii) A review of current responsibilities being carried out by Commonwealth departments, recommended options for eliminating overlaps and gaps, recommendations for improving the effectiveness of management of the long term care system at the State and local level, and proposed mechanisms for assuring ongoing coordination of long term care policy and systems development in this Commonwealth.

(3) Insure that a long term care system in this Commonwealth is responsive to those Pennsylvanians who require the services, including special needs populations.

(4) Examine and make recommendations on the organizational structure of long term care services at the State and local level.

(5) Explore the use of various funding mechanisms to encourage development, renovation and adaptation of housing for the special needs of the long term care population.

(6) Expand efforts to educate consumers about long term care insurance.

(7) Seek both short and long range solutions to the problem of how to pay for long term care services.