A bill calling for New Jersey’s health department to develop a standard resident admission agreement for assisted living communities and other long-term care providers is facing pushback from industry leaders.
S 1962 would require the New Jersey Department of Health to develop a standardized resident admission agreement for all long-term care facilities. The section of the bill is modeled after California’s standard admission agreement for skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities developed by the California Department of Public Health.
LeadingAge New Jersey & Delaware said that one size does not fit all and that for-profit and nonprofit providers offer different services and amenities.
“Certainly, all licensed providers offer a core set of services, but they also have unique characteristics,” President and CEO James McCracken told McKnight’s Senior Living. “We are not opposed to the state outlining certain standard items that must be included in an admissions agreement, but we do not support the state creating one standard agreement.”
The Health Care Association of New Jersey, or HCANJ, said that it “strongly objects” to standardized admission agreements, agreeing that they do not account for differences in provider services.
In a position statement from HCANJ Vice President John Indyk shared with McKnight’s Senior Living, the organization noted that assisted living communities have extensive residency agreements or resident contracts that differ by community or company based on the services and amenities each provides. Among the matters addressed in varied resident agreements are renters’ insurance, pets, smoking, transportation, electronic monitoring, motorized scooters, overnight guests and fitness centers.
“Rather than require a standard resident admission agreement, a better and more practical approach would be having the Department of Health determine what provisions should be prohibited from resident admission agreements,” the HCANJ position statement reads.
The bill also includes measures meant to protect residents, and the associations do not oppose them. Those include prohibiting facility owners or employees from managing a resident’s affairs or acting as an attorney-in fact for a resident. The bill also would develop uniform standards of care for people who are not attorneys and are helping residents apply for Medicaid coverage.
The bill passed the New Jersey Senate and was referred to the Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee for consideration.
