General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5395
February Session, 2018 *_____HB05395AGE___031518____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 5395
February Session, 2018
*_____HB05395AGE___031518____*
AN ACT CONCERNING DISCLOSURE AND CREDENTIALING REQUIREMENTS FOR PERSONS ADVISING SENIOR CITIZENS ON LIFE CARE PLANNING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2018) (a) For purposes of this section, (1) "senior citizen" means a person sixty-two years of age or older, and (2) "senior life planning services" means (A) referrals or recommendations provided to a senior citizen concerning (i) home care services, (ii) a continuing-care contract, as defined in section 17b-520 of the general statutes, (iii) an assisted living facility, or (iv) a nursing home facility, as defined in section 19a-490 of the general statutes, or (B) advice offered to a senior citizen by a financial planner, as defined in section 36a-860 of the general statutes, for the specific purpose of helping the senior citizen to qualify for state-administered medical assistance.
(b) Any person providing senior life planning services shall disclose to the senior citizen (1) the total fee and cost to a senior citizen for such services, (2) any compensation received in connection with such services, (3) whether the person providing such services is an attorney in the state and is providing professional legal advice, and (4) the education, experience and certifications of the person providing such services. Such disclosure shall be in writing, in conspicuous type, as defined in section 42-103dd of the general statutes, and shall be signed by both the senior citizen and the person providing senior life planning services.
(c) No person, in connection with senior life planning services, shall use a certificate, professional designation or form of advertising expressing or implying that such person has special training, education or experience in senior life planning services unless such person has obtained a certificate, title or designation through completion of a course of study (1) resulting in the awarding of an academic degree to such person that is from an accredited institution of higher education and is in a field related to the senior life planning services being offered to the senior citizen, provided the certificate, title or designation is not used in an untrue, deceptive, misleading or false manner, (2) that is in a field related to the senior life planning services being offered to the senior citizen and is provided by an organization accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies or an organization recognized as an accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 USC 1099b, as amended from time to time, or (3) that is offered by any other organization approved by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection.
(d) A violation of this section shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive act under section 42-110b of the general statutes.
(e) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the provisions of this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section October 1, 2018 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section
October 1, 2018
New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(c)(1), "service" was changed to "senior life planning services"; in Section 1(c)(2), "service" was changed to "senior life planning services being offered to the senior citizen"; and in Section 1(d), "deemed" was inserted and "in violation of" was changed to "under" for consistency with provisions of the section and the general statutes.
AGE Joint Favorable Subst.
AGE
Joint Favorable Subst.