HHS Bill Addresses Requirements for Settings Exempt from Assisted Living Licensure

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Bobbie Guidry

The Health and Human Services (HHS) omnibus budget bill passed by lawmakers last month included important policy provisions that ensure that licensed assisted living providers and those providers exempt from assisted licensure will be eligible to receive customized living payments. This legislation paves the way for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to issue the Assurance Form for settings that are exempt from assisted living licensure and will ensure residents receiving services in these settings are not disrupted.

The legislation also addressed perceived gaps in regulation for exempt settings due to the repeal of the housing with services registration law. 

Settings exempt from the assisted living licensure law will be required to comply with consumer protection provisions found in Minn. Stat. 325F.722. These requirements are nearly identical to those found in the housing with services registration law, which is set to expire on Aug. 1 and should be very familiar to existing providers. This legislation is not intended to impose new requirements on providers. Rather, the intent is to ensure that residents in exempt settings are not losing any protections upon the repeal of the housing with services registration law. The requirements include minimum contract requirements for housing, including a statement of resident rights, emergency planning, dementia training, housing manager training requirements, a prohibition on the use of restraints and clarification that settings must comply with landlord-tenant laws.

We anticipate that the enforcement of these regulations will be consumer-complaint-driven. The legislation provides that a state agency must make a good faith effort to reasonably resolve any dispute with a setting before seeking any additional enforcement actions. The legislation also explicitly prohibits any private right of action to enforce these provisions.