LTC Options Counseling Verification Code Requirement Ends

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Bobbie Guidry

For many years, prospective assisted living residents have been required to either receive long-term care options counseling or prove that they declined counseling prior to entering assisted living.

This requirement has created a burden on prospective AL residents as well as the Senior Linkage Line, which has been required to furnish codes proving that counseling was received or declined for prospective AL residents. Primarily to reduce the burden on Senior Linkage Line staff, and to make them more readily available to individuals who are seeking LTC options counseling, the Board on Aging proposed eliminating the mandatory counseling requirement for prospective AL residents.

LTC Imperative Successful in Opposition

The LTC Imperative opposed the requirement from the beginning, and we were pleased to see the department advocate for eliminating it and the Legislature approve the change. Effective Aug. 1, 2024, the verification code is no longer required. An assisted living provider must, however, inform each prospective resident or the prospective resident’s designated or legal representative of the availability of and contact information for long-term care options counseling services by providing Senior Linkage Line information at the facility tour.