Committee advances bill requiring standardized dementia-care disclosure forms for memory-care facilities

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee advanced House Bill 26-1107, directing the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to develop a standardized disclosure form for facilities that advertise or provide dementia and memory-care services.

Senator Cutter, sponsor of the bill, said the form would give prospective residents and families comparable information at the facility and online, covering dementia-training requirements for staff, guidelines on restraints and security features, how facilities involve families in care and activities, fee models for dementia care, criteria for acceptance, transfer and discharge, and a website link with payer-source information and records of past or active complaints.

Jay Rheinegen, a legislative volunteer with AARP, testified in strong support and described searching for memory care for his 91-year-old mother. Rheinegen said the family had 30 days to find a facility after dementia-related decline, that his mother had lost 87 pounds, and that the experience showed how confusing and urgent such decisions can be. He said a uniform disclosure form, developed with input from the long-term care ombudsman, would make the process clearer and reduce misleading marketing.

Senator Cutter moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the motion passed on roll call 5 to 2. The committee concluded its business and adjourned.