Changes Required to Assisted Living Contracts

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Bobbie Guidry

Providers will be required to make a few minor changes to the assisted living contract in the coming weeks. LeadingAge Minnesota is in the process of providing feedback to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) on a draft frequently asked questions document regarding assisted living contract language.

We anticipate the FAQ will be posted on the MDH website soon and included in the next ALL Together Newsletter. The FAQ will clarify what MDH is interpreting as acceptable language and content on several interpretations of the statute that have been controversial, including encouraging residents to consider obtaining renter's insurance and waivers of liability related to acts of third parties. The FAQ will assist providers in reviewing their contracts for statutory compliance.

The policy bill passed at the end of the 2022 legislative session also included several contract changes. Instead of the license number, you must include the HFID on your assisted living contracts. This change will relieve the provider of revising the contract with each license renewal when the license number changes because the HFID number remains constant.

Finally, there was a legislative change to 144G.50 subd. 2. LeadingAge Minnesota has requested this topic also be included in the upcoming FAQ. The amendment, located in subd. 2, item 5 of the statute, is as follows (new language in bold):

• “(5) a delineation of the grounds under which the resident may be discharged, evicted, or transferred or have housing or services terminated or be subject to an emergency relocation;”

The contract changes in the 2022 bill are effective Aug. 1 and apply to assisted living contracts executed on or after Aug. 1, 2022. It is, however, MDH's expectation that all assisted residents receive a new contract and that the revised contract be signed. You should initiate this process before Aug. 2, but MDH will provide a grace period until Sept. 1 to complete the task. If surveyed during the grace period, the provider needs to show the steps they are taking to come into compliance if they are not yet compliant.

Watch Advantage for any further updates regarding assisted living contract changes.