Minnesota Urged to Establish Assisted Living Licensure Process

Minnesota may soon lose its status as one of the least-regulated states for assisted living, at least if a new consumer workgroup has its way. In 2017, the Minnesota Department of Health received 25,226 allegations of physical abuse, neglect, thefts and unexplained serious injuries within state-licensed homes for the elderly, and 97% of these claims […]

Granny Cam Provision Included in Florida Power Generator Bill

Following the deaths of 13 skilled nursing residents in Florida due to a power outage following Hurricane Irma, two Florida lawmakers have introduced legislation to prevent those types of deaths — while also using the bills as an opportunity to pursue a “granny cam” law. Rep. Katie Edwards (D-Plantation) and Sen. Gary Farmer (D-Fort Lauderdale) […]

Tax Reform Proposal Could Make It Harder to Pay for Senior Living

Senior living providers, industry associations and residents are mobilizing against a provision of the recently introduced tax reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, saying this element of the legislation would increase the tax burden for residents and threaten their ability to remain in private-pay communities. For over 70 years, the medical expense deduction has been part […]

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 […]