1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; requiring the Board on Aging to convene an Alzheimer's 
1.3 	disease working group; requiring a report.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE WORKING GROUP.
 1.6 		Subdivision 1.Establishment; members. The Minnesota Board on Aging must 
1.7 	appoint, unless otherwise provided, an Alzheimer's disease working group that consists of 
1.8 	no more than 20 members including, but not limited to:
1.9 	(1) at least one caregiver of a person who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's 
1.10 	disease;
1.11 	(2) at least one person who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease;
1.12 	(3) a representative of the nursing facility industry;
1.13 	(4) a representative of the assisted living industry;
1.14 	(5) a representative of the adult day services industry;
1.15 	(6) a representative of the medical care provider community;
1.16 	(7) a psychologist who specializes in dementia care;
1.17 	(8) an Alzheimer's researcher;
1.18 	(9) a representative of the Alzheimer's Association;
1.19 	(10) the commissioner of human services or a designee;
1.20 	(11) the commissioner of health or a designee;
1.21 	(12) the ombudsman for long-term care or a designee; and
1.22 	(13) at least two public members named by the governor.
1.23 	The appointing authorities under this subdivision must complete their appointments no 
1.24 	later than September 1, 2009.
2.1 		Subd. 2.Duties; recommendations. The Alzheimer's disease working group must 
2.2 	examine the array of needs of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, services 
2.3 	available to meet these needs, and the capacity of the state and current providers to meet 
2.4 	these and future needs. The working group shall consider and make recommendations and 
2.5 	findings on the following issues:
2.6 	(1) trends in the state's Alzheimer's population and service needs including, but 
2.7 	not limited to:
2.8 	(i) the state's role in long-term care, family caregiver support, and assistance to 
2.9 	persons with early-stage and early-onset of Alzheimer's disease;
2.10 	(ii) state policy regarding persons with Alzheimer's disease and dementia; and
2.11 	(iii) establishment of a surveillance system to provide proper estimates of the 
2.12 	number of persons in the state with Alzheimer's disease, and the changing population 
2.13 	with dementia;
2.14 	(2) existing resources, services, and capacity including, but not limited to:
2.15 	(i) type, cost, and availability of dementia services;
2.16 	(ii) dementia-specific training requirements for long-term care staff;
2.17 	(iii) quality care measures for residential care facilities;
2.18 	(iv) availability of home and community-based resources for persons with 
2.19 	Alzheimer's disease, including respite care;
2.20 	(v) number and availability of long-term care dementia units;
2.21 	(vi) adequacy and appropriateness of geriatric psychiatric units for persons with 
2.22 	behavior disorders associated with Alzheimer's and related dementia;
2.23 	(vii) assisted living residential options for persons with dementia; and
2.24 	(viii) state support of Alzheimer's research through Minnesota universities and 
2.25 	other resources; and
2.26 	(3) needed policies or responses including, but not limited to, the provision of 
2.27 	coordinated services and supports to persons and families living with Alzheimer's and 
2.28 	related disorders, the capacity to meet these needs, and strategies to address identified 
2.29 	gaps in services.
2.30 		Subd. 3.Meetings. The board must select a designee to convene the first meeting of 
2.31 	the working group no later than September 1, 2009. Meetings of the working group must 
2.32 	be open to the public, and to the extent practicable, technological means, such as Web casts, 
2.33 	shall be used to reach the greatest number of people throughout the state. The members of 
2.34 	the working group shall select a chair from their membership at the first meeting.
2.35 		Subd. 4.Report. The Board on Aging must submit a report providing the findings 
2.36 	and recommendations of the working group, including any draft legislation necessary 
3.1 	to implement the recommendations, to the governor and chairs and ranking minority 
3.2 	members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health care no later than 
3.3 	January 15, 2011.
3.4 		Subd. 5.Private funding. To the extent available, the Board on Aging may utilize 
3.5 	funding provided by private foundations and other private funding sources to complete the 
3.6 	duties of the Alzheimer's disease working group.
3.7 		Subd. 6.Expiration. This section expires when the report under subdivision 4 is 
3.8 	submitted.