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Assisted living in many states could see increasing regulations

December 19, 2017 Article 1 min read
Authors:
Dana Wollschlager Plante Moran Living Forward

Are you interested in offering assisted living? You may want to be aware of increasing state regulations, some of which may make jumping into the arena more complex than you thought.

Nurse holding the hand of a senior patient in a hospital bed

Are you interested in offering assisted living?

In a recent report that reviews state regulations for assisted living, the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) described a gradual increase in requirements that states are enacting or considering for assisted living communities. Increasing state regulations may make jumping into the arena more complex than you thought.

Highlights of NCAL’s “Assisted Living State Regulatory Review”

NCAL’s report describes requirements for assisted living communities of various monikers, such as residential care and personal care homes. Regardless of the name, the common factor is that all of these facilities offer housing for seniors with supportive services, assistance with activities of daily living, and “some level of heath care.”

Overall, the report found the following to be true about assisted living regulations:

  • In the last year, 17 states made changes to licensing conditions, oversight requirements, and a variety of other regulations affecting assisted living.
  • Four states saw new laws around penalties and oversight.
  • While 33 states reported no legislative or regulatory changes affecting assisted living communities this year, more than half of the states will be “proposing, formally reviewing, or considering changes” over the next year.

Learn more about each state’s assisted living regulations

McKnight’s Senior Living offered a detailed summary and context in a recent article about the report, but you can access the full report (and individualized state-specific reports) on NCAL’s website:

Read McKnight’s article >>

Access NCAL’s full report >>

Help navigating assisted living regulations

Increased regulations mean increased complexities for assisted living providers — both current and prospective. If you’d like help thinking through what these regulations mean for your assisted living practice, we can help. Contact us today.

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