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Assisted Living Reform
Act
The Assisted Living Reform Act , which I co-sponsored in the
Senate, provides numerous protections to
consumers and strong direction to
assisted living operators. With official
state oversight of all assisted living
facilities, the Department of Health
will ensure a basic standard of
operation, clarification of the assisted
living product for consumers, and
standardized consumer protections and
disclosures. Full protections, however, will only be available when the
complete regulations contemplated by the Act are adopted.
For the first time in New York State,
the Assisted Living Reform Act
officially defines an assisted
living residence as "an entity
which houses 5 or more adult residents
and provides/arranges for housing, daily
food service, 24-hour on-site
monitoring, case management, personal
care and home care based on the
mandatory development of an
individualized service plan for each
resident." In addition, the new law will
require all facilities which market
themselves as assisted living
residences to be licensed
by the state Department of Health.
Facilities who allow residents to age in
place by providing additional care and
services must be licensed and
additionally certified by the state as
an enhanced assisted living
residence. An enhanced assisted
living residence must meet further
requirements in order to provide the
additional services and care. Even
further certification is required for
specialized enhanced assisted living
facilities which are specially equipped
to provide services and care for
individuals with chronic conditions such
as dementia.
While the details and requirements of
these licensure and certification
practices are still being developed, the
law clearly outlines important
consumer protections disclosed
through the mandatory written residency
agreement. The residency agreement must
be written in plain language and in an
easily readable text format and include
the following:
Consumer Protections:
• The criteria used by the
residence to determine admission to
the residence and the criteria which
must be met in order to maintain
residency at the facility,
• the base rate for a residence in
the facility,
• the services included in the base
rate fee,
• a list and description of any
other services available at the
facility,
• the fee scale for additional
services available but not included
in the base rate,
• billing and payment procedures,
• the name of the resident’s
representative and/or the resident’s
legal representative,
• name, telephone number, street
address and mailing address of the
facility,
• the name and mailing address of
the owner and of the
operator of the
facility,
• the licensure and, if applicable,
additional certification status of
the residence,
• the license and/or certification
status of the outside agencies
providing home care, personal care,
and other services at the residence,
• steps to take to change or modify
the written residency agreement,
• a description of the complaint
resolution process,
• procedures for the resident to
terminate the written residence
agreement, including the refund
policies,
• procedures and justifications
necessary for the residency operator
to terminate the agreement,
discharge the patient, or transfer
the patient to another level of
care,
• and the effective dates of the
written residency agreement.
In addition to these disclosures in
the written residency agreement, the
assisted living facility is also
required to provide each resident or
anyone interested in becoming a resident
the following:
• The consumer information guide to
assisted living which will be
produced by the Department of
Health,
• information on how residents may
arrange for services independently
of the facility if they are needed,
• a statement assuring the resident
they have the right to choose their
own health care providers,
• the availability of Medicare
funds to pay for care,
• the facility’s toll-free number
to use in making complaints, and
• information on the state’s
Ombudsman services for questions and
concerns about long term care in New
York State.
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