Sec. 531.043. LONG-TERM CARE VISION

(a) In conjunction with the appropriate state agencies, the commissioner shall develop a plan for access to individualized long-term care services for persons with functional limitations or medical needs and their families that assists those persons in achieving and maintaining the greatest possible independence, autonomy, and quality of life.

(b) The guiding principles and goals of the plan focusing on the individual and the individual's family must:

(1) recognize that it is the policy of this state that children should grow up in families and that persons with disabilities and elderly persons should live in the setting of their choice; and

(2) ensure that persons needing assistance and their families will have:

(A) the maximum possible control over their services;

(B) a choice of a broad, comprehensive array of services designed to meet individual needs; and

(C) the easiest possible access to appropriate care and support, regardless of the area of the state in which they live.

(c) The guiding principles and goals of the long-term care plan focusing on services and delivery of those services by the state must:

(1) emphasize the development of home-based and community-based services and housing alternatives to complement the long-term care services already in existence;

(2) ensure that services will be of the highest possible quality, with a minimum amount of regulation, structure, and complexity at the service level;

(3) recognize that maximum independence and autonomy represent major goals, and with those comes a certain degree of risk;

(4) maximize resources to the greatest extent possible, with the consumer receiving only the services that the consumer prefers and that are indicated by a functional assessment of need; and

(5) structure the service delivery system to support these goals, ensuring that any necessary complexity of the system is at the administrative level rather than at the client level.

(d) The commission shall coordinate state services to ensure that:

(1) the roles and responsibilities of the agencies providing long-term care are clarified; and

(2) duplication of services and resources is minimized.

(e) In this section, "long-term care" means the provision of health care, personal care, and assistance related to health and social services over a sustained period to people of all ages and their families, regardless of the setting in which the care is given.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 14.12(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997.