Assisted Living Executive

ALFA AdvoCACy 2008
Keeping Pace With the States

By MariBetH Bersani

With the presidential election just months away, ALFA has stepped up its advocacy efforts to keep assisted living issues front and center at the national and state levels.

With a national election looming, ALFA moved up its annual Advocacy Day from September to February, in an effort to catch the attention of lawmakers while the business of making laws remains front and center. While 2008 is expected to be a slow year for new legislation on the senior housing front, ALFA will nonetheless create opportunities to keep our industry’s issues in the forefront.

We’ll also tackle specific issues, including a separate Advocacy Day in April to support the Secret Ballot Protection Act, an important piece of legislation expected to move in Congress in 2009.

Primary Focus on States

This year, ALFA’s primary focus will continue to be at the state level, where regulators have been busy laying plans. In almost a dozen states, efforts are un-derway to rewrite the rules that govern senior housing operations. While the federal government slows its legislative efforts in election years, states typically pick up the pace, and ALFA will be working deeply at the state level to influence any changes that surface.

One example involves the ongoing effort to ensure existing rules remain in place. There’s always a temptation for state legislators to layer on new regulations, even when no such changes might be needed. It will be our job to show legislators that the current rules are more than adequate.

Along these lines, ALFA as always supports the licensure of assisted living communities and annual unannounced surveys by the state. Efforts at the state level will be aimed at helping lawmakers understand the industry position and demonstrating that existing frameworks already serve consumers well.

In pressing this agenda at the state level, ALFA will continue to rely on its constituency to help shoulder the load. Families, residents, and employees all carry a special weight with lawmakers: As constituents, their voices often are heard louder than communications from outsiders. To that end, ALFA is introducing this year a Grassroots Tool Kit. The Tool Kit will show local activists how to contact legislators and organize meetings, how to develop relevant talking points, and how to engage families in the process.

Examples of state-level issues can be seen in South Carolina and Tennessee. In both states, lawmakers

have introduced bills that would ensure residents in assisted living have the right to remain in place when they enter hospice care. While the majority of states allow this, several still do not. ALFA belives it is a basic right of all residents and will push for legislation wherever it is possible in the coming year.

In another state-level development, there has been some discussion lately of creating mechanisms whereby assisted living communities could be rated for the sake of comparison. ALFA is not opposed to this, but wants to see it done right.

North Carolina, for example, is developing such a system, and ALFA is working to ensure that the end product of that effort is a rating protocol that is meaningful to consumers. The danger here is that a “rating system” might in fact be nothing more than a checklist of perceived shortcomings. ALFA wants to ensure that the various criteria truly reflect the significant aspects of a senior housing community. That someone will be there to love and care for Mom is the real litmus test, rather than a catalog of demerits based on perceived technical flaws.

Beyond such specific issues, state-level advocacy is important in another sense: Typically it is easier to influence legislation at the state level, where lawmakers may be closer to the experiences of their constituents. A state legislator can’t afford to ignore a few dozen employees or family members, who at the federal level might drop off the radar screen.

Bird’s-eye view

ALFA encourages its partners at the state level to begin forming relationships long before they turn to legislators for help on regulatory or other matters. Invite your representatives to your ribbon cuttings. Then when a significant bill comes up, at least they will know who is calling.

ALFA educates, influences, and informs, serving as the thought leader on national trends and local rule-making. As such, ALFA can offer a bird’s-eye view that legislators rely on: More than just an advocate, ALFA is an asset to those seeking to wisely preside over an industry that touches so many consumers so closely. ❏