Roadmap for Virginia's Health

VHCA (10/25/2007)

Governor Kaine’s “Health Care Year” is coming to a close and the Governor’s Health Reform Commission’s Report is now final and has been published.  As part of his year of emphasis on health care, Governor Kaine last year created a Health Reform Commission to recommend improvements to Virginia’s health care system, addressing workforce, affordability, quality, accessibility, and long term care issues. 

The final report has many recommendations that, if implemented, would require an investment of state funds of approximately $200 million.  Given the current gloomy state revenue picture, the Commission staged its recommendations in three tiers, suggesting that the report could be used as a roadmap for health care improvements over the next 10 to 15 years.

To prepare the Commonwealth for the age wave that will come in the next few years, the report makes recommendations for long term care that would (quoting from the report):

• Reinforce Medicaid’s current pathway to more integrated and consumer-driven long term care.
• Expand the availability of the most fundamental aspect of community living – housing.
• Dramatically increase the number of people planning for their future long term care needs.
• Provide consumers, providers, and caregivers with access to a seamless coordinated system of information and decision-making tools.
• Provide additional support to families as caregivers.
• Provide options to enhance quality of life and delay unnecessary or premature institutionalization.
• Significantly increase the availability and scope of integral services for all seniors and persons with disabilities, such as transportation, case management, and respite care.

The report’s long term care recommendations are estimated to cost approximately $96 million.

In addition to the Health Reform Commission report, the Governor will receive in the next few weeks the report of McKinsey & Company on “Generating Medical Value for Virginians.”  These two reports will help the Kaine Administration develop legislative proposals and budget recommendations to be introduced in the 2008 General Assembly.

The full report (large download) and the specific long term care recommendations and estimated costs are now available.