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Alison Kuznitz | SHNS
Older adults navigating the move to assisted living residences can benefit from expanded consumer protections beginning in July.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced finalized regulations Monday requiring assisted living residences to produce "straightforward service agreements" that specify the cost of services and guidelines for when costs may increase.
The facilities allow older adults to live largely independently while receiving some help with daily tasks, and monthly residential fees can vary from $3,655 to $8,036, according to the Executive Office of Aging and Independence. More than 17,000 people are living in more than 270 certified ALRs, which came under scrutiny following the Gabriel House fire last July that claimed 10 residents' lives.
Coming just after the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, the regulations will take effect on July 17, the AG's office said. Draft rules were released in April, and Campbell's office said the final version has "minor changes" based on public comment.
Campbell said the regulations will "protect older adults from unfair and deceptive practices under the state's consumer protection law." The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys said it looks forward to supporting regulatory implementation and using the rules when necessary to "ensure vulnerable residents receive the dignity, fairness, and respect they deserve."
The rules also say residents should have transparent information about what could happen if they can't afford to stay in their facility or require advanced care that's not available, and that ALRs should provide clear information about the availability of nursing care. Residents will also gain the same rights as other tenants, such as protections around fees and evictions.
Dignity Alliance Massachusetts said the rules bring "long-overdue financial transparency, explicit structural accountability, and absolute clarity to the assisted living landscape."
"For too long, thousands of older adults and residents with disabilities across Massachusetts have moved into assisted living residences under complex contracts that lacked the clear, enforceable consumer protections standard in almost every other sector," Dignity Alliance said. "Today, that is being changed."
