Provides that licensed assisted living community is not required to hold a residential unit for a Medicare-eligible resident absent from the facility for a period exceeding 10 days unless EOHHS provides payment to the facility to hold the bed.

Plain-English Summary

This bill deals with what happens when a resident of an assisted living community has to leave temporarily — for example, to go to a hospital or rehabilitation center. Under current rules, assisted living facilities may be required to hold a resident's room open while they are away. This bill would change that rule specifically for residents who are covered by Medicare.

Under this proposal, if a Medicare-eligible resident is away from their assisted living facility for more than 10 days, the facility would not be required to keep their room reserved for them — unless the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) agrees to pay the facility to hold that bed. Essentially, the facility's obligation to save the room is tied to whether the state is covering the cost of keeping it available.

This bill primarily affects two groups: Medicare-eligible residents of assisted living communities and the facilities themselves. For residents, there is a potential risk that after a hospital stay or other absence lasting more than 10 days, their room may no longer be held for them when they are ready to return, unless the state steps in with payment. For assisted living facilities, the bill removes a financial burden by not requiring them to hold a vacant, unpaid room indefinitely. The state agency (EOHHS) would have the authority and responsibility to decide when it makes sense to fund a bed hold.

The bill has been introduced and referred to the House Finance Committee, meaning it is in the early stages of the legislative process and has not yet been voted on.