Senator Lewis Supports Legislation to Reform Oversight of Long-Term Care Facilities

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to approve legislation that reforms the Commonwealth’s long-term care and assisted living sectors, in order to ensure safe, high-quality care for residents in these facilities. An Act relative to long term care and assisted living substantially strengthens oversight and enforcement of health and safety standards in long-term care facilities in Massachusetts. The bill passed with unanimous, bipartisan support.

“We should do everything possible to ensure that seniors and individuals with disabilities who reside in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are getting high-quality care at all times,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “I’m very pleased that the Senate has unanimously passed this important legislation.”

Key provisions in this bill include:

• Requiring the Department of Public Health (DPH) to inspect each long-term care facility every 9 to 15 months to assess quality of services and compliance. It also requires DPH to review the civil litigation history, in addition to the criminal history, of long-term care facility applicants, including any litigation related to quality of care, patient safety, labor issues, or deceptive business practices.
• Allowing DPH to limit, restrict, or revoke a long-term care facility license for cause, such as failure to provide adequate care, failure to comply with laws or regulations, or lack of financial capacity to operate a facility. It also gives DPH the power to appoint a temporary manager if a long-term care facility owner fails to maintain compliance with laws and regulations.
• Requiring long-term care facilities to submit outbreak response plans to DPH with clear protocols for the isolation of residents, lab testing, visitor screening, preventing spread from staff, and the notification of residents, family, and staff in the event of a contagious disease outbreak.
• Allowing assisted living facilities to offer basic health services such as helping a resident administer drops, manage their oxygen, or take a home diagnostic test, to make it easier for residents to get timely and efficient care.
• Enhancing oversight and compliance of assisted living facilities by lowering the threshold for ownership interest disclosure from 25% to 5%, strengthening certification requirements, staff training, and giving the state new powers to penalize non-compliance. It also adds whistleblower protections for staff and residents who report anything happening at a facility that they reasonably believe is a threat to the health or safety of staff or residents.

• Prohibiting long-term care facilities from discriminating against residents based on LGBTQ+ identity or HIV status, whether through the denial of admission, medical or non-medical care, access to restrooms, or through room assignments. It also requires staff training on preserving LGBTQ+ rights and care.

A Conference Committee will now be appointed to reconcile differences between the versions of long-term care bills passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, before being sent to Governor Maura Healey for her signature.