Residents of adult care homes are taking to YouTube to lobby the legislature.

The industry group Friends of Adult Care Homes has filmed a three-minute video featuring residents and their family members speaking about the benefits.

The video notes that state budget proposals would cut $25 million from adult care homes, arguing they are already "consistently underfunded" and some would fail. 

"I would live with my family, but they all go to work," says one woman in the video. "I'd be all by myself. I don't know if I could handle myself any more, so I do need somebody."

Friends of Adult Care Homes is e-mailing a link to the video to legislators and other people in Raleigh.

"Since the frail and elderly residents who live in North Carolina's adult care homes can't all come to Raleigh, we're bringing their voices directly to you," says executive director Lou Wilson in the e-mail. 

The video had been seen 236 times this morning. 

Some major bills passed on health care this session.

The bills will:

Create a new state medical form for end of life choices, revises health-care power or attorney language.

Require group health insurance plans to cover treatment for mental illness services at the same level that they cover physical illnesses.

Create a program for residents whose long-term illnesses make buying health insurance too expensive or unavailable because no company is willing to sell it to them.

Set up a system of rating adult-care homes, strengthen health-care personnel registry and set up regular meetings of Penalty Review Commission.

Require state and local public agencies to disclose the total compensation paid to top officials, but gives public hospitals the right to deny such information for the rest of their employees. Also bars the public from learning the details of medical practice purchase contracts struck by public hospitals.

The state House unanimously approved a bill today aimed at protecting older North Carolinians in adult-care homes and better informing family members about the facilities’ records.

The bill, championed by Rep. Jennifer Weiss, a Cary Democrat, originally restored more regular meetings of the Penalty Review Commission, which advises the state on penalties for violations by adult-care homes, reports Thomas Goldsmith.

On Wednesday, the House Aging committee added language that would establish a rated certificate system for adult-care homes.

That means the public would be able to see more easily whether adult-care homes — assisted living centers and family group homes — are meeting minimum state standards.

“We are not asking anyone to do anything they are not already supposed to be doing,” said Rep. Beverly Earle, a Charlotte Democrat.

The bill now goes to the Senate, which had already approved its original form.