151-E:25 Duties of Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services. –
The commissioner of the department of health and human services shall:
I. Modify the policies and practices of the department of health and human services necessary to implement this subdivision, to the extent possible within existing statutory and budget constraints.
II. Coordinate the plans and activities of the commissioner with the bureau of elderly and adult services, the bureau of family assistance and division of long-term supports and services to implement the system of care and reduce duplication of efforts across divisions and bureaus within the department.
III. Develop a plan for full establishment and maintenance of a system of care. Such plan shall be reviewed annually and amended or modified as needed. It shall include sufficient detail to allow compliance with the reporting requirements of RSA 151-E:27 as applicable and shall address at least the following elements:
(a) System capacity, including workforce sufficiency.
(b) Federal funding participation, including but not limited to, Medicaid waivers and plan amendments.
(c) Changes to statutes, administrative rules, and structure of appropriations, and department policy, practice and structure.
(d) Projections of cost savings from increased service effectiveness and reductions in costly forms of care and use of such savings to close existing gaps in long term care services.
(e) Recommended modifications to law, practice, and policy to prepare for and accommodate the participation of privately funded service providers in the system of care.
(f) Changes to rates for the Choices for Independence program in accordance with section 1902(a)(30)(A) of the Social Security Act and requirements for Medicaid home and community-based waiver programs under section 1915(c).
IV. Beginning no later than January 1, 2025, begin adjusting rates for the Choices for Independence waiver consistent with the rate study, assuming funds are available. Any unspent funds allocated to the Choices for Independence program shall be non-lapsing and shall be used for service provision for the Choices for Independence program.
V. On or before September 30, 2024, submit a waiver request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services or implement an alternative method to establish a robust presumptive eligibility process for Medicaid home and community-based waiver services, including a mechanism for third party participation.
VI. Improve functionality of the NH EASY system for individuals applying for services and provide additional trainings for professionals who frequently assist people applying for services and develop associated performance metrics.
VII. Ensure applications for Medicaid long-term services are user friendly and processed in a timely manner and develop performance metrics to measure these attributes.
VIII. On or before June 30, 2025, maintain an online portal for providers, case managers, navigators and other long-term care service providers to enable them to easily identify and access available long-term care services and supports for older adults and adults with disabilities. The portal functions required by this section may be assigned to an entity that has responsibilities in addition to those required by this section. The portal shall contain the following information:
(a) A current list of home and community-based care waiver service providers accepting new clients, including links to websites and contact telephone numbers, organized by region that is updated on a weekly basis.
(b) Non-Medicaid resources to support the cost of home and community-based services.
(c) Referral information for legal service organizations.
(d) Guidance regarding family navigation of hospital discharge protocols and options.
IX. On or before June 30, 2025, create a public facing online dashboard to track home and community-based waiver services data, including, but not limited to, results of any performance measurement assessments, waiver services authorized but not paid, current wait times for receiving waiver services and the number of people from institutionalized care into the community.