The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the effective and appropriate provision of home health care and homemaker services to persons in their homes can be an important step toward eliminating not only the nursing home bed shortage which currently exists in this State but also preventing the inappropriate placement of our citizens into other forms of institutional care.

Although there exists in this State a large number of agencies providing home health care and homemaker services, there also exists the problem of severe service fragmentation. There are different types of agencies, providing somewhat different services, subjected to different State and Federal regulations, and eligible for different sources of reimbursement. This fragmentation has in fact meant that to date home health care has not been able to reach its full potential as an integral part of the health care delivery system.

The Legislature finds therefore that there is a tremendous need for greater coordination and information in the home health care field. There needs to be effected not only coordination of the services rendered by home health care and homemaker agencies, but also some coordination of the often conflicting State and Federal regulations. Only through such coordination will home health care and homemaker agencies be able to render an adequate array of services to patients in their homes, thereby avoiding prolonged institutionalization, concomitant high costs and associated adverse social and medical implications.

L.1980, c. 35, s. 1, eff. June 12, 1980.