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Bill would set rules for family councils in larger assisted‑living facilities; regulators say updated COMAR regs are near
Summary
House Bill 12-91 would require assisted‑living facilities with 15 or more beds to adopt specified procedures for family councils, including public correspondence files and a 14‑day response requirement, proponents told the committee.
House Bill 12-91 would codify processes for family councils in assisted‑living programs with 15 or more beds, requiring facilities to allow family councils to transition to family leadership within six months, maintain a public correspondence file of communications with the family council, provide contact information for the council to prospective residents, and respond to family council correspondence within 14 days.
Sponsor testimony from Delegate Wims (presented by Greg Williams) emphasized that family councils strengthen accountability and resident quality of life. Family members and advocates described how councils resolved care issues without escalating to ombudsmen and urged the 14‑day response standard as more effective than the current 30‑day window in proposed regulations. George Carroll and other advocates said making correspondence files available to prospective residents is important for transparency.
AARP Maryland supported the bill and described family engagement as improving oversight and resident well‑being. The Maryland/DC chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys supported the bill and proposed two amendments: extend the requirement to all assisted‑living facilities regardless of size and authorize the long‑term care ombudsman to assist in forming a council if needed.
Lifespan Network, representing many providers, opposed the bill on procedural grounds because a multi‑year rulemaking process revising COMAR (the Code of Maryland Regulations) for assisted living had completed public comment and was scheduled for final publication; Lifespan asked the legislature to allow the regulatory process to conclude rather than supersede it with statute. A department official and others confirmed the revised COMAR text is slated for final publication and would take effect after the required publication interval.
Witnesses recommended several “friendly amendments,” including applying the regulation definition consistently to licensed assisted living programs of all sizes, allowing the ombudsman to help create councils, and permitting escalation of response deadlines for urgent matters.
Ending: The committee closed the hearing and members asked the sponsor to follow up with the department to obtain a written timeline for final publication of the revised regulations and to continue discussions with stakeholders about possible amendments.
