Judge Invalidates Florida’s Generator Rule for Assisted Living

A judge has ruled that Florida Gov. Rick Scott cannot order assisted living communities or skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to install generators, citing the lack of emergency conditions. Administrative Law Judge Garnett Chisenhall of Florida’s Division of Administrative Hearings invalidated the rule on Oct. 27 on the grounds that Scott “failed to demonstrate the existence […]

States Set Tougher Assisted Living Penalties, Oversight

Beefed-up monetary penalties and oversight requirements were among the most common regulatory changes to hit assisted living in 2017. That’s according to the 2017 edition of the Assisted Living State Regulatory Review, an annual report issued by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), a Washington, D.C.-based organization that represents senior […]

New Year, New Repayment Law for CCRCs

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) in California are preparing for a new law that will impact the way they repay contracts. The new law requires CCRCs to repay entrance fees if a unit is vacated by the resident in a certain amount of time, or else risk accruing interest. The law has the potential to […]

Bill Expands Caregiver Powers for Enhanced Assisted Living

A new bill that enables home health care aides to perform more advanced tasks has been approved in the New York state assembly by policymakers and is under consideration in more than a dozen other states. The bill allows licensed assisted living communities to utilize home health aides for additional nursing tasks like administering medication. […]

Bill Paves Way For New Assisted Living Construction in Florida

Last year, the Florida Legislature passed a bill that served as a model for increasing oversight and accountability without unduly burdening assisted living providers. Now, the state again passed a stage-setting measure to uniformly update fire safety codes in assisted living communities, allowing for modernization in new construction. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. John Legg […]

‘Granny Cam’ Laws Target Assisted Living

A wave of new bills about camera regulations in assisted living settings is bringing privacy issues to a head as technology increasingly tracks data and monitors resident in the senior housing industry. While five states have implemented monitoring regulations within skilled nursing settings, two other states are looking to spread these laws into assisted living and […]

CCRC Bill Heightens Oversight

A bill that will provide oversight of two dozen Washington continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) has been approved by state lawmakers. The bill is among a wave of legislation that aims to increase regulations on CCRCs nationwide.  Current state laws in Washington do not regulate CCRCs, but assisted living and skilled nursing components of facilities […]

Lawmakers Take ‘Fix It or Nix It’ Stance on EB-5

A popular senior housing finance program that was previously under fire will live another day—but lawmakers continue to discuss dismantling or reforming it. The EB-5 financing program has been extended exactly as is until September 30, 2016, but calls to reform the program with stricter regulations have remained. The provision to extend the program without […]

How Congress Could Upend Senior Care Financing

Amid recent reports of patient harm and a lack of oversight within nursing homes, a new law could start holding nursing homes more accountable for low quality ratings. The Nursing Home Accountability Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), aims to cut nursing homes with the lowest scorers from Department of Housing and Urban […]