HD46 - Continuing Care Retirement Communities
Executive Summary: House Joint Resolution No. 372, passed by the 1991 General Assembly, directed the Department for the Aging to study the Commonwealth's consumer protection provisions for residents of continuing care retirement facilities. Interest in the study was precipitated by complaints which had been reported to state agencies and which, it was alleged, were not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainants. Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) provide board, lodging and nursing services to an individual for the life of the individual or for a period in excess of one year. Typically, the continuing care resident pays an entrance fee plus an additional monthly fee. The entrance fee can range from $12,500 to $313,000. In exchange, the community agrees to provide a package of services which include housing, food, and when needed, nursing care. With the rapid and continued increase in the elderly population, it is projected that the continuing care retirement community is an option that increasing numbers of people will choose. Continuing care retirement communities are a significant new housing alternative for older persons. Virginia is one of thirty states which, to some extent, regulate continuing care retirement communities. The State Corporation Commission is the primary mechanism for enforcing regulatory requirements governing financial stability, protection of consumers from unsound decisions, and financial disclosure and contract development. In addition, continuing care retirement communities must also meet the Commonwealth's regulations which govern the levels of long-term care they provide. Several approaches were used to achieve the study's mandate: 1) an extensive literature review was completed; 2) an advisory committee was formed which included continuing care residents, providers, and state and local agencies which regulate or interact with continuing care retirement communities; 3) a survey was conducted of state agencies who receive complaints to determine the procedures for handling complaints and the number and type of complaints received during the past two years, and 4) a survey of residents and resident council presidents was conducted. The report describes the numbers and nature of complaints reported to state agencies during the past two years (see pp 6-9). The responses to the survey of residents and resident council presidents are contained in Appendix D. The Department for the Aging offers the following recommendations to improve consumer protection for residents of continuing care retirement facilities: RECOMMENDATION #1: Add to the disclosure statement a statement specifying that at entrance, residents will be given information, provided by the Commonwealth for this purpose, on how they might handle any complaints which arise while a resident of the CCRC. RECOMMENDATION #2: The Department for the Aging's Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, with input from the State Corporation Commission, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Services, continuing care residents, consumer organizations, and providers representing the Virginia Health Care Association, the Virginia Association of NonProfit Homes for the Aging and the Virginia Association of Homes for Adults, shall publish consumer information for continuing care residents and prospective continuing care consumers and recommend procedures for dissemination of such information. RECOMMENDATION #3: Establish a complaint clearinghouse operated by the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman where complaints from continuing care residents may be reported, documented and referred to the appropriate agency for handling. RECOMMENDATION #4: Encourage continuing care communities to fulfill their responsibility for assuring communication with residents, pursuant to Section 38.2-4910 of the CCRC Act. RECOMMENDATION #5: The language "or for filing complaints" should be added to the Code of Virginia, Section 38.2-4910. "No retaliatory conduct shall be permitted against any resident for membership or participation in a residents' organization or for filing complaints." RECOMMENDATION #6: The contract between the continuing care community and the resident should include a statement, printed in 12-point type and in bold face above the signature line, encouraging the prospective resident to have an independent financial adviser or attorney of his/her choosing review the contract and disclosure statement before s/he signs. RECOMMENDATION #7: The creation of a state level continuing care committee should be studied. |
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