PUBLIC POLICY
residential facilities. LeadingAge Colorado is a member of the committee. In July, the state implemented rules based
Advocates Argentum For You
Legislators are not the only ones in state cap- itols making policy changes; regulators also use their power to amend state laws. Many senior living communities are held account- able to abide by state regulations, and there- fore it is imperative that Argentum keeps a close eye on regulatory activity to protect the industry from onerous regulations. Along with our state affiliates, Argentum identified key regulatory activity that has occurred thus far in 2017 in several states:
Arizona Arizona ALFA began to work on reducing overall certified caregiver training hours. Through the regulatory rules process, the goal is to reduce the total number of 104 required hours that certified caregivers must have before working in assisted living. Currently, those hours are delivered via 88 classrooms and 24 skills trainings. This bur- densome requirement has contributed to an extreme workforce shortage within the state. Arizona ALFA proposes a reduction in both classroom hours and skills training while also accepting previous work experience in lieu of certain hours. The anticipated date for com- pletion of rule change is late spring 2018.
Colorado The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment’s (CDPHE) Assisted Living Advisory Committee is working on a com- plete revision of the state’s assisted living licensure rules. The committee is two years into the process and expects to complete its work by this fall with implementation of the new rules next spring. The revisions cover all aspects of assisted living operations from staff training to admission and discharge, falls prevention, secured units, and inclu- sion of the Facility Guidelines Institute’s standards for the design and construction of
46 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE / ISSUE 4 2017
on statutory changes that revise the training process for qualified medication adminis- tration personnel (QMAPs). QMAPs are employed by assisted living communities to provide routine medication administration to residents. They are now trained by private training entities that are approved by CDPHE. The state’s Medicaid agency, the Colo-
rado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF), is continuing imple- mentation of the federal home and com- munity-based services (HCBS) final rule. Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) delayed the dead- line until 2022, HCPF expects compliance by March 2020. As part of this process, the state is revising the rules for Medicaid-cer- tified assisted living communities. HCPF is revising the rate methodology for HCBS waiver providers, which includes assisted living. The rates and rate methodology will be sent to CMS for approval. Once CMS gives approval, providers can expect a 1.4 percent increase, which will likely take effect in the fall. HCPF is also working through a statutorily-created committee to review the adequacy of HCBS provider rates. A report will be drafted later this year and provided to the legislature’s joint budget committee for consideration.
The Colorado Department of Human Services is ramping up efforts to draft rules implementing a bill passed this year that requires employers providing care to at-risk adults to check the Adult Protective Services database prior to employment.
Florida The Florida Department of Elder Affairs published the latest notice of change in the development of the administrative rule govern- ing assisted living community operations. This rulemaking is in response to statutory changes that occurred in H.B. 1001 that passed in 2015. This notice of change is not the final rule, but it represents revisions to the earlier proposed rule the department incorporated as a result of testimony provided at rule hearings. Many of the concerns expressed by Florida Argentum and its members were acted upon, although some do remain. There are several options for the next steps in the final rule development: » A rule hearing may be requested, al- though that request is not required to be honored by the agency;
» A rule challenge can be brought within 20 days of the notice being published in the Florida Administrative Register; or
» If a hearing is not granted and no chal- lenge is brought, the department may file the rule with the Secretary of State for final adoption between 21-45 days after publication of the Notice of Change.
Changes in Regulatory Landscape by State
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