1st Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 02/10/2015 08:37am
A bill for an act
relating to health; establishing a grant program to encourage advanced care
planning; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 145.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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Minnesota Statutes, section 145.99, may be cited as the "Let's Talk Now Act."
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For purposes of this section, "advance care planning"
means a process of communication between individuals and their families, caretakers,
and health care providers to identify, assess, and discuss end-of-life care values and
preferences in order to minimize confusion and to ensure that the individual's preferences
are honored when individuals are no longer able to speak for themselves.
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(a) The commissioner of health shall award grants to nonprofit
organizations and local public health boards to develop and implement comprehensive
initiatives targeted to a designated community, which may consist of a specific geographic
area or population to encourage advance care planning discussions among individuals,
families, caregivers, and health care providers.
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(b) The purpose of the grants is to:
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(1) increase societal awareness of the need for advance care planning among
individuals, families, caregivers, and health care providers within a community;
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(2) encourage and assist individuals, families, caregivers, and health care providers
to begin having or continue to have advance care planning discussions based on informed
choices and the needs and values of the individual; and
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(3) promote the availability and increase awareness of resources available to
individuals, families, caregivers, and health care providers who desire advance care
planning resources including, but not limited to, health care directives.
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(c) Grant initiatives must:
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(1) be based on best practices and public health research principles;
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(2) be based on community input, needs, and values; and
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(3) address health disparities and cultural differences that may exist within the
community to be served.
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(d) Applicants must submit a grant application to the commissioner by September
1, 2015. The application must:
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(1) describe the proposed initiative, including the targeted community and how the
initiative meets the requirements in this subdivision;
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(2) identify the proposed outcomes of the initiative and the evaluation process to
be used to measure these outcomes; and
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(3) identify technical assistance and oversight needs, including technical expertise,
and assistance in developing possible strategies based on the community to be served.
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(e) The commissioner shall award the grants by October 1 of each year, beginning
October 1, 2015.
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(f) Each grant recipient shall report to the commissioner on the progress of the
initiative at least once during the grant period and shall submit a final report to the
commissioner within two months of the end of the grant period that includes the outcome
results.
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(a) By August 1 of each year,
beginning August 1, 2015, the commissioner shall award a grant to a statewide advance
care planning resource organization that has expertise in community-based advance
care planning initiatives to provide planning assistance to potential grant applicants and
continued assistance during the implementation of the initiatives.
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(b) The grantee must be able to provide:
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(1) advice on developing and implementing community-specific strategies that use
methodologies with demonstrated success;
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(2) data and information to assist in developing measurable outcomes and an
effective evaluation;
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(3) assistance in evaluating an initiative in order to determine whether the outcomes
have been met;
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(4) advice on best practices or approaches on how to engage multicultural
communities and faith-based organizations; and
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(5) training and other technical assistance that may be requested by grantees,
including community engagement, clinical readiness training, and capacity building.
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(a) The commissioner, in consultation with the statewide advance
care planning resource organization that was awarded the grant under subdivision 3, shall
submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate and house of
representatives committees and divisions with jurisdiction over health care finance and
policy on the advance care planning grant program by February 15 of each year, beginning
February 15, 2017.
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(b) The report shall include:
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(1) information on each grantee awarded a grant under subdivision 2, including the
targeted communities and the initiatives that were conducted using the grant funds;
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(2) the measurable outcomes established by each grantee and the evaluation process
used to determine whether the outcomes were met, including the results of the evaluation;
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(3) the overall impact of the initiatives that were conducted, including the financial
impact on state health care costs, if available; and
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(4) recommendations on further state action in order to continue to encourage the
use of advance care planning.
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Nothing in this section shall be
construed to condone, authorize, or approve mercy killing, euthanasia, or assisted suicide.
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$....... is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2017, from the general
fund to the commissioner of health for the advance care planning grant program under
Minnesota Statutes, section 145.99. Up to ... percent of this appropriation may be used by
the commissioner for the technical assistance and oversight grant described in Minnesota
Statutes, section 145.99, subdivision 3.
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