LeadingAge NY Testifies at CCRC Council Meeting
LeadingAge NY testified before the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) Council at its Sept. 14th meeting in Albany. Our testimony discussed the challenges faced by current and prospective CCRC operators in New York State, the economic benefits of developing and operating CCRCs, and legislative and regulatory changes needed to address barriers to development and efficient operation. A recording of the meeting webinar can be viewed here, and the meeting materials are posted here.
CCRCs provide a full range of services including independent housing, adult care facility/assisted living, and nursing home care to residents in a campus setting as their needs change. While the number of CCRCs has grown considerably across the nation, only 12 CCRCs are currently operating in New York.
Comprehensive statutory and regulatory reforms are needed to modernize the CCRC laws in New York and eliminate barriers to their development, expansion, and efficient operation. To this end, LeadingAge NY has developed legislation [A.10657 (Schimminger)/S.7778 (Hannon] to ensure that this important long term care model is more widely available to the State’s seniors.
The Sept. 14th CCRC Council meeting was primarily organizational in nature, since the group has not met in many years and now has several new members. The Department of Health (DOH) provided Council members and observers with background on the State’s CCRCs and an update on Westchester Meadows, an existing CCRC that declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is being sold to Bethel Homes, an existing multi-level long term care provider also based in Westchester County.
Among other things, the Council is responsible for acting on any application for a Certificate of Authority (COA) to operate a CCRC in the State. The next CCRC Council meeting is being held on Oct. 26th in Albany to consider pending applications for COAs.
Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383, ext. 128