House Bill 68 (Delegate Dana Stein) – “Continuing Care Retirement Communities – Governing Bodies, Grievances, and Entrance Fees”
Senate Bill 76 (Senator Clarence Lam) – “Continuing Care Retirement Communities – Governing Bodies, Grievances, and Entrance Fees”
THE ISSUE:
The proposed legislation seeks to address the following core concerns as identified by MaCCRA members and fellow CCRC residents.
• Resident influence on decisions affecting community life including grievance processes.
• Management transparency.
• Financial concerns including refund of deposit fees and corporate stability.
THE BILL’S 3 COMPONENTS:
Governing Board Membership
• INCREASE TO TWO RESIDENT MEMBERS
• ELECTED BY THE RESIDENTS’ COUNCIL OR ITS EQUIVALENT
• ABLE TO REPRESENT COMMUNITY CONCERNS DIRECTLY
• ABLE TO REPORT ALL DELIBERATIONS TO THE COMMUNITY
Refund of Entrance Fees
• INDIVIDUAL VACATED UNIT ASSIGNED A SEQUENTIAL REFUND NUMBER
• REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGING TWICE A YEAR
o NUMBER AND AMOUNT OF SATISFIED ENTRANCE FEE REFUNDS,
o OUTSTANDING REFUNDS DUE,
o PERCENTAGE OF OCCUPANCY, AND
o AVERAGE LENGTH OF TIME TO CONTRACT OR RECONTRACT
Grievance Procedures
• PROVIDERS SUBMIT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGING ON A SEMI-ANNUAL BASIS THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ABOUT GRIEVANCES:
o NUMBER OF INTERNAL GRIEVANCES FILED
o SUBJECT MATTER OF THE GRIEVANCE
o FINAL DISPOSITION OF THE GRIEVANCE
• DEPARTMENT OF AGING TO TRACK THIS ANNUALLY ACROSS ALL PROVIDERS AND FACILITIES
WHAT YOU CAN DO!
Contact your State legislators and ask for their support of these important bills!
HOW TO FIND YOUR LEGISATOR:
Go to http://mdelect.net/ and follow the instructions to enter your address.
Your State elected officials will be identified, with hyperlinks directing you to their contact information.