* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Welch
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Informational Hearing - How Best to Ensure a Continuum of Services to Baltimore's Elderly Citizens
FOR the purpose of requesting the Executive Director, Commission on Aging and Retirement Education (CARE), the Commissioner of Health, the President, Baltimore Healthcare Access, Inc.( BHCA), and the Director of Finance to report to the City Council on the proposed merger of CARE with BHCA; the impact on the level, consistency, and quality of programs for and services to the elderly; and the fiscal implications to the City budget and to the receipt of federal and state funds by downsizing or dissolving CARE .
body
Recitals
The Transition Team Report, March 19, 2010 recommendations to increase efficiency and effectiveness includes: "Strongly consider the merger of the Commission on Aging, Retirement and Education (CARE) into Baltimore HealthCare Access, Inc. (BHCA), a quasi-public agency of the Baltimore Health Department. BHCA has received national recognition for its administration of the Medicaid program in the City and receives funding from nine major Baltimore foundations. Moving CARE programs and service to the Health Department/BHCA is expected to result in an immediate $400,000 - $500,000 savings in administrative costs."
BHCA's proposal to the Health and Human Services Transition Team states, in support of the ultimate goal to dramatically reduce costs to Baltimore City while at the same time enhancing services that CARE currently provides, that the not-for-profit agency provides many of the same services CARE provides to individuals on Medicare, to individuals on Medicaid, such as "advocacy services, intake and referral services via a call center, ombudsman and case management services".
Affiliated with the Baltimore City Health Department, BHCA, with a current staff of 150 and a budget of $10 million annually, provides core competencies service in the areas of eligibility determination for Medicaid programs, including the Maryland Children's Health Insurance Program, the Primary Adult Care Program, the Medical Assistance for Families Program, and the Kaiser Bridge Program. In addition, BHCA provides case management to the most vulnerable residents of Baltimore City - non-compliant Medicaid beneficiaries; adults with disabilities; children with special health care needs; children in foster care; pregnant/post-partum women; the homeless; and individuals in drug treatment.
In response to the proposed merger, CARE officials point out that BHCA focuses on infants, pregnant mothers, and their families and does not have experience with the delivery of the range of services to the elderly that CARE provides. CARE has an advocacy, case management, and administrative role as deemed by the federal Older American's Act and the Maryland State Department of Aging. With the exception of the Money Follows the Person Demonstration Program, CARE does not deliver any services that are billable under Medicaid or Medicare. The services provided are "not related to the medical model that is central to BCHD/BHCA."
CARE works closely with both City and private agencies that service seniors - most particularly the Disabilities Commission; the Health Department's Retired Seniors and Volunteer Program (RSVP) and Senior Community Employment Program (SCEP); the Department of Housing; and the Department of Social Services. Additionally, on a quarterly basis, CARE convenes the Interagency Committee on Aging Services (the IAC), which works to ensure that agencies do not forget seniors as they deliver services and holds agencies responsible for unmet needs.
CARE's responsibility is "to assure that residents receive the services that they need, to advocate for them, to provide redress when they do not receive expected care/services. Care is a conduit, a facilitator. CARE is looked to as the avenue that seniors travel first to get what they need to get. For seniors, CARE is their first call to access services."
As the proposed merger of CARE and BHCA is considered, the City of Baltimore's primary responsibility to our venerable seniors is to ensure that the services they depend on continue to be delivered at current levels, at the very least, and at improved levels if at all possible.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Executive Director, Commission on Aging and Retirement Education (CARE), the Commissioner of Health, the President, Baltimore Healthcare Access, Inc.( BHCA), and the Director of Finance are requested to report to the City Council on the proposed merger of CARE with BHCA; the impact on the level, consistency, and quality of programs for and services to the elderly; and the fiscal implications to the City budget and to the receipt of federal and state funds by downsizing or dissolving CARE.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Executive Director, Commission on Aging and Retirement Education (CARE), the Commissioner of Health, the President, Baltimore Healthcare Access, Inc.( BHCA), and the Director of Finance.
dlr10-1084~intro/14Apr10
ccres/CARE/nf
dlr10-1084~intro/14Apr10
????
ccres/CARE/nf