Massachusetts Invites Public Input on Assisted Living Regulations: Key Changes Could Impact Estate Planning and Elder Care Decisions

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is seeking the public’s input to assist them in drafting regulations to protect those residing in assisted living facilities.

Agency regulations hold the same force as the law. Before an agency adopts regulations, the public must have an opportunity to comment.

Participating in drafting these regulations by leaving your comment is a great and important way to get involved in the community. You can comment whatever ideas you have on how to make Assisted Living Facilities safer and more efficiently regulated.

The Issue

Assisted living facilities generally house older adults who need daily care, but not as much care as a skilled nursing home provides. Essentially, assisted living is the step below a nursing home.

They provide a range of services, including help with bathing, dressing, eating, taking medications, housekeeping, laundry, and transportation. They also offer social and recreational activities, and 24-hour supervision and security. According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs, more than 17,000 people currently reside in assisted living facilities in the state.

That’s a lot of elderly citizens who may be vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and exploitation at the hands of an assisted living facility attempting to cut corners. In an effort to help protect them, the Attorney General’s Office is offering an online survey on their website where people can raise their concerns with the state of assisted living in Massachusetts.

Consisting of only two questions, the survey is quite brief. Still, it does allow people to share their opinions directly and anonymously with the Massachusetts powers-that-be who will be drafting and enacting these guidelines.

The first question of the survey is relatively straightforward, and does not really open the door to voicing any real complaints. It reads: “Are there specific consumer protections you believe to be necessary to protect the rights of those who live in Assisted Living Residences?”

In other words: “what rights do you think people living in assisted living facilities should have?” Some thoughts that I’d have would be: a patient’s right to live in a clean, relatively spacious environment; privacy regarding their communications and belongings; decent food options; the right to participate in community services and activities; financial autonomy; the right to engage with licensed health care professionals; the right to practice their religion.

It’s the second question, though, where one could really make some noise. It asks: “Is there anything else you’d like us to know?”

An open-ended question like this allows citizens to tell, in specific detail, any horror stories they might have about the realities of assisted living. Here’s your chance to affect some real change, so take this opportunity to spill the beans on any unsafe or unfair practices carried out by these assisted living facilities.