A law that takes effect today adds a step to the process of entering an assisted-living facility in Minnesota. The new law, designed to save the state money, is characterized by people in the industry as unwarranted government interference.
The law requires seniors to receive a consultation about other options before choosing assisted living. There's a provision to opt out of the consultation, but seniors would have to contact the state's "Senior Linkage Line" to opt out.
It applies to those who would pay for the housing out of pocket as well as seniors on government assistance.
The law is "government overreach," said a spokesman for Ecumen, which owns the Ecumen Lakeshore assisted-living facility in Duluth.
Supporters say it will save senior citizens money as they discover choices short of entering assisted living. That will lead to state savings in Medical Assistance. The Department of Human Services estimates a savings of
ADVERTISEMENT
$3.8 million during the current biennium.
Natalie Zeleznikar,chief executive officer of Duluth-based Five Star Living, called that estimate "aggressive" because she believes people already avoid leaving their homes as long as possible.
"It's a tremendous change in people's lives, and they're doing it when they absolutely don't have any other options that make sense," she said
Both Zeleznikar and Eric Schubert, vice president of communications and public affairs for Ecumen, said it's inappropriate for the state to impose the requirement on seniors who would be paying for assisted living out of their own money.
"We completely oppose it," Schubert said. "It's really government overreach -- telling a person who wants to use their own private dollars how they have to use those dollars."
But state Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, chairman of the Health and Human Services Finance Committee, said the state has a compelling interest in how those dollars are spent. "The backstop for people paying cash when they go broke is the state," he said. "So we're on the hook for the choices people make about how people spend their money in their long-term care."
His committee didn't have any hearings on this issue this year, Abeler said, but the Department of Human Services long has advocated the consultation requirement, and hearings have taken place during previous legislative sessions. Gov. Mark Dayton proposed it during talks about resolving the government shutdown, Abeler said, and Republicans agreed.
Abeler pointed out that such a requirement already exists before nursing home admission.
ADVERTISEMENT
But Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, who also sits on the health committee, said it's good for people to be informed, but he thought the consultation would be a waste of time for most people. "Most people are informed," he said. "They know what they're doing."
Amy Nelson, founder and president of Accurate Home Care in Elk River, Minn., had a different perspective. "People don't understand all of the options that they have out there," she said. And providers aren't always able to explain those options "because we get so siloed into our worlds."
Zeleznikar said she was concerned the consultation could cause delays in admitting people in crisis situations.
Abeler acknowledged there were "a few bugs to be worked out" regarding emergency admissions. But the new law is only drawing fire from one constituency, he added.
"The only people who have complained to me have been the (assisted-living) providers," Abeler said. "I've not heard one word from a client or citizen group. AARP hasn't written up against it. The Senior Federation hasn't called me and said, 'How can you do this to us?' "
In fact, Minnesota AARP supports the new law, spokesman Seth Boffeli said. "We see it as another opportunity to give people more information."
