EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb1263*
HOUSE BILL 1263
J3 4lr3319
CF SB 952
By: Delegate Pasteur Delegates Pasteur, Alston, Bagnall, Bhandari, Chisholm,
Cullison, Guzzone, Hill, Hutchinson, S. Johnson, Kaiser, Kerr, Kipke,
R. Lewis, Lopez, Martinez, M. Morgan, Pena–Melnyk, Reilly, Rosenberg,
Szeliga, Taveras, and White Holland
Introduced and read first time: February 8, 2024
Assigned to: Health and Government Operations
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 24, 2024
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Assisted Living Programs – Assisted Living Referrers – Requirements and 2
Prohibitions 3
FOR the purpose of establishing certain requirements for assisted living referrers, 4
including requirements related to the maintenance of general liability insurance, 5
criminal history records checks, and the maintenance and provision of certain 6
agreements and documents, and assisted living program tours descriptions of 7
services; prohibiting an assisted living referrer from requesting payment for a 8
referral after a certain time period; requiring the Office of Health Care Quality to 9
maintain a certain database of approved assisted living programs for a certain 10
purpose; requiring an assisted living referrer to comply with certain data privacy 11
requirements on certain dates; and generally relating to assisted living referrers and 12
assisted living programs. 13
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 14
Article – Health – General 15
Section 19–1813 16
Annotated Code of Maryland 17
(2023 Replacement Volume) 18
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 19
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 20 2 HOUSE BILL 1263
Article – Health – General 1
19–1813. 2
(a) In this section, “assisted living referrer” means an individual or agency that: 3
(1) Makes referrals to assisted living programs without cost to the person 4
receiving the referral; and 5
(2) Is compensated by an assisted living program or other third party for 6
referring individuals to a licensed assisted living program. 7
(b) Each assisted living referrer: 8
(1) Shall register with the Office of Health Care Quality; 9
(2) Shall disclose to a client or potential client of the assisted living referrer 10
all financial relationships the assisted living referrer has with assisted living programs; 11
(3) If referring a client or potential client to an assisted living program, 12
shall affirm that the assisted living program is licensed; 13
(4) If referring a client or potential client to an assisted living program, 14
may refer the client or potential client only to a licensed assisted living program; [and] 15
(5) SHALL MAINTAIN GENERA L LIABILITY INSURANCE; 16
(6) SHALL REQUIRE EMPLOYE ES TO OBTAIN A CRIMI NAL HISTORY 17
RECORDS CHECK ; 18
(7) SHALL SIGN A FEDERAL HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND 19
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT AGREEMENT WITH TH E CLIENT OR THE CLIE NT’S 20
REPRESENTATIVE ; 21
(8) SHALL MAINTAIN A SIGN ED, WRITTEN, AND DATED DOCUMENT 22
BETWEEN THE ASSISTED LIVING REFERRER AND THE CLIENT OR THE CL IENT’S 23
REPRESENTATIVE OUTLI NING THE TERMS OF AS SISTANCE PROVIDED BY THE 24
ASSISTED LIVING REFE RRER; AND 25
(7) SHALL PROVIDE TO THE CLIENT OR THE CLIENT ’S 26
REPRESENTATIVE A DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICES THAT WILL B E PROVIDED BY 27
THE REFERRER ; 28
(8) IF THE REFERRER HAS A FINANCIAL AGREEMENT WITH THE 29
CLIENT OR THE CLIENT ’S REPRESENTATIVE , SHALL PROVIDE THE AG REEMENT TO 30 HOUSE BILL 1263 3
THE CLIENT OR THE CL IENT’S REPRESENTATIVE IN WRITING OR BY ELECTRONIC 1
MEANS; AND 2
[(5)] (9) Shall notify the Office of Health Care Quality immediately on 3
learning that the assisted living program is operating without a license. 4
(C) (1) SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION , AN ASSISTED 5
LIVING REFERRER MAKING A REFERRAL TO AN ASSISTED LIVING P ROGRAM SHALL 6
ARRANGE AND FACILITA TE A TOUR OF THE ASS ISTED LIVING PROGRAM FOR THE 7
CLIENT AND THE CLIEN T’S FAMILY. 8
(2) DURING THE TOUR REQUI RED UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS 9
SUBSECTION, A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ASSISTED LIVING REFE RRER AND A 10
REPRESENTATIVE OF TH E ASSISTED LIVING PR OGRAM SHALL BE PRESE NT. 11
[(c)] (D) An assisted living referrer may not: 12
(1) Receive funding from the Department if the assisted living referrer is 13
in violation of this subtitle; [or] 14
(2) Make referrals only to licensed assisted living programs from which the 15
assisted living referrer receives compensation as described in subsection (a)(2) of this 16
section; OR 17
(3) REQUEST PAYMENT OF A REFERRAL FEE FROM AN ASSISTED 18
LIVING PROGRAM M ORE THAN 1 YEAR 2 YEARS AFTER THE ASSISTED L IVING 19
REFERRER PROVIDED TH E REFERRAL. 20
[(d)] (E) If requested by any person or on its own initiative, the Office of the 21
Attorney General may investigate whether an assisted living referrer violated this subtitle 22
and may seek appropriate relief. 23
(F) (E) THE OFFICE OF HEALTH CARE QUALITY SHALL MAINTAI N A 24
USER–FRIENDLY DATABASE OF LICENSED ASSISTED LI VING PROGRAMS AND 25
ENSURE THAT EACH ASS ISTED LIVING REFERRE R HAS ACCESS TO THE DATABASE. 26
(F) (1) ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30, 2025, AN ASSISTED LIVING 27
REFERRER: 28
(I) SHALL KEEP A CLIENT ’S OR POTENTIAL CLIEN T’S MEDICAL 29
RECORD, AS DEFINED IN § 4–301 OF THIS ARTICLE , CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY 30
DISCLOSE THE MEDICAL RECORD ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING A REFERRAL 31
IF THE CLIENT OR POTENTIAL CL IENT GIVES INFORMED WRITTEN, ELECTRONIC, OR 32
AUDIO RECORDED CONSE NT; AND 33
4 HOUSE BILL 1263
(II) MAY NOT SELL THE PERS ONAL DATA OF A CLIEN T, 1
POTENTIAL CLIENT , OR CLIENT’S REPRESENTATIVE TO ANOTHER PERSON UNLES S 2
THE CLIENT OR THE CL IENT’S REPRESENTATIVE GIVES INFORMED WRITT EN, 3
ELECTRONIC, OR AUDIO RECORDED CO NSENT. 4
(2) ON OR AFTER OCTOBER 1, 2025, AN ASSISTED LIVING R EFERRER 5
SHALL COMPLY WITH AL L APPLICABLE DATA PR IVACY LAWS. 6
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 7
October 1, 2024. 8
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.