(a) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly recognizes that the health care needs of Pennsylvania's current and future senior population should be assessed.
(b) Establishment.--There is established a Senior Care and Services Study Commission.
(c) Purpose.--The purpose of the commission shall be all of the following:
(1) Reviewing the current care and service offerings and resources available for Commonwealth residents over the age of 65 years.
(2) Projecting future need for the various levels of senior care and services through 2025.
(3) Evaluating the ability of the current assessment and delivery systems to meet the projected service needs.
(4) Projecting the resources necessary to meet the projected need and making policy recommendations as to how the projected need can best be met considering the resource limitations that may exist at the time the commission completes its work under this article.
(d) Composition.--
(1) The commission shall consist of all of the following members:
(i) The Secretary of the Budget or a designee.
(ii) The Secretary of Health or a designee.
(iii) The Secretary or a designee.
(iv) The Secretary of Aging or a designee.
(v) One member appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate.
(vi) One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.
(vii) One member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(viii) One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
(ix) The following members appointed by the Governor:
(A) Two Commonwealth residents aged 65 or older who use long-term living services.
(B) One individual representing nonprofit nursing facilities.
(C) One individual representing for-profit nursing facilities.
(D) One individual representing county nursing facilities.
(E) One individual representing hospital-based nursing facilities.
(F) One individual representing home and community-based service providers.
(G) One individual representing area agencies on aging.
(H) One representative of an organized labor group representing employees providing long-term living services.
(I) One physician whose practice is focused in long-term care settings.
(J) One individual representing other long-term living stakeholders as may be determined by the Governor.
(2) Appointments under paragraphs (1)(v), (vi), (vii), (viii) and (ix) shall be made within 60 days of the effective date of this section.
(3) Upon appointment of the last member under paragraph (2), the commission shall transmit notice to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin of the date of the last appointment. The date of the last appointment shall be considered the date of the establishment of the commission.
(e) Election of chairperson.--The members of the commission shall elect a chairperson of the commission from among themselves.
(f) Terms of members.--
(1) The terms of those members who serve by virtue of the public office they hold shall be concurrent with their service in the office from which they derive their membership.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), members shall serve until their successors are appointed if they represent the interest of the membership class for which they were appointed.
(g) Meetings.--The first meeting of the commission shall be held within 30 days of establishment of the commission. Subsequent meetings shall be held at least quarterly, but more frequent meetings may be convened either at the call of the chairperson or by request of a simple majority of the commission members.
(h) Initial review.--The commission shall complete the initial review required under subsection (c)(1) within three months of its establishment.
(i) Public input sessions.--Within three months of issuing the findings under subsection (h), the commission shall hold no fewer than three public input sessions across this Commonwealth for the purpose of receiving public comment on current or proposed programs serving seniors.
(j) Projections.--The commission shall obtain the projections under subsection (c)(2) and (4) no later than one year from its establishment. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the commission, if a majority of the members agree, from using a Commonwealth-procured study initiated prior to the establishment of the commission to obtain this information.
(k) Final report.--The commission shall publish a final report as required under subsection (c)(1), (2), (3) and (4) no later than 18 months following its establishment and shall submit the report to the Governor and the General Assembly. The final report of the commission and any information and data compiled by the commission in accordance with this article shall be made available on the publicly accessible Internet website operated by the Department of Aging when the commission submits its final report to the Governor and the General Assembly.
(l) Expenses.--The commission is authorized to incur expenses deemed necessary to implement this article.
