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Legislator Says State Reform Of Long Term Care Gaining Momentum

An Interview with Catherine Strode

Legislator Says State Reform Of Long Term Care Gaining Momentum
State Representative Dave Young (House District 50) is a recently appointed member of the Community Living Advisory Group. The Group, created by Governor Hickenlooper through an Executive Order, is designed to review the needs of people with disabilities and aging adults for long term services and supports.
by Catherine Strode MPA
Health Care Advocacy Program Policy Perspective
Legislator Says State Reform Of Long Term Care Gaining Momentum
State Representative Dave Young (House District 50) is a recently appointed member of the Community Living Advisory Group. The Group, created by Governor Hickenlooper through an Executive Order, is designed to review the needs of people with disabilities and aging adults for long term services and supports.
In an interview with Policy Consultant Catherine Strode, Representative Dave Young offered his personal perspective on the Group’s agenda and its progress.

What progress do you think the Community Living Advisory Group has made in reforming the delivery of long term care?
“There was a period of time that it took everybody to build a level of trust. I’m not saying that any one agency or group has been distrustful. I just think this whole issue has been contentious. There were a series of committees and advisory groups that were formed over time that ended up getting folded into this effort. I think people wanted to make sure that this group was empowered with the ability to make changes and recommendations and to get on a solid footing of communication with each other. Everybody has shown their commitment to work collaboratively to come up with solutions. There may still be issues that are contentious but I have a sense that, after this period of time that they have been working, there’s momentum that’s building. People want to be person-centered. That’s a core issue to everything I see coming out of the Community Living Advisory Group: focused on what people need, helping them achieve their maximum potential in the community.”
Do you think there is consensus around the definition of ‘person-centered’?
“I think there’s consensus about the concept but I think people are still working to understand how you operationalize that. This whole conversation about the waivers has been interesting because our waivers have all been about diagnoses. Now we’re saying they ought to be about allowing people to get the services they need when they need them. It takes some thought when you redesign waivers as to what that looks like, how that gets done. When you talk about how people access the system – how are people actually able to get the services they need, no matter whether they’re in a Community Centered Board or at a single entry point? What kind of training do we have to do with folks to ensure that, no matter where somebody may show up, they are able to get the services they need when they need them? What does it look like budget wise when we do that? I think there’s agreement that we want to head in that direction but I think people are grappling with the procedural, operational issues about how, at street level, that actually happens.”
Do you think there is consensus around the goal?
“The reason why this group is formed is because there is a concern we may have too many people living in institutional settings or in settings that provide more intensive services than they really need. We haven’t examined how to keep them active in the community versus giving them more restrictive options. How do we get more people the services and supports they need in order to be active as community members. That’s the goal.”
How does your bill (House Bill 1211) promote community living for the aging and people with disabilities?
“With House Bill 1211, the complex rehabilitation technologies bill, we’re working to ensure that people who need custom wheelchairs, complex rehabilitation technologies, have access to them so they can remain mobile in their communities. If they can’t have access to mobility then it’s the same issue as a senior experiencing some kind of health thing and losing mobility. I think it’s those situations where we see the needs overlapping and how putting these groups together, and thinking how we can work with them as a larger group, might make sense. It’s taken a lot of work on behalf of the Community Living Advisory Group to see where the commonalities are and operationalize those things at a really specific level. Is it controversial to think of all these groups together? Maybe. But maybe there are some opportunities to think about needs that overlap and how can we use that to help everybody in these communities.”
Catherine StrodeCatherine Strode is the Policy Consultant to the Health Care Advocacy Program. She holds a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in Health Care Policy. Formerly the Coordinator of the HCAP Program, Catherine publishes Policy Perspective, featuring interviews with state legislators and policy leaders.
For questions or comments contact Catherine Strode at cstrode@advocacydenver.org