Continuing care retirement communities: contracts.

(1) Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services is responsible for regulating activities relating to continuing care contracts that govern care provided to an elderly resident in a continuing care retirement community for the duration of the resident's life or a term in excess of one year. This bill would transfer that responsibility, except with respect to oversight and regulation of programs and services provided directly to residents of the communities, to the Department of Insurance and would make related conforming changes. The bill would require, by not later than January 1, 2011, the Insurance Commissioner, the State Public Health Officer, and the Director of Social Services to jointly develop and adopt regulations regarding standards, staff training, policies, and procedures to ensure maximum coordination and consistency of implementation of the transfer required by the bill. (2) Existing law establishes the Continuing Care Provider Fee Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the State Department of Social Services for purposes of administering the continuing care retirement community requirements of existing law. This bill would, for purposes of administering the above provisions, create 2 accounts within the fund, the Insurance Account, which would be continuously appropriated to the Department of Insurance, and the State Department of Social Services Account, which would be continuously appropriated to the State Department of Social Services. Ninety-five percent of fees collected pursuant to the above-described provisions would be deposited into the Insurance Account and 5% into the State Department of Social Services Account. (3) Existing law requires insurers to comply with various requirements. This bill would require the Insurance Commissioner to apply certain of those requirements to continuing care retirement communities and contracts, including requirements related to the disclosure of material transactions and requirements related to provider holding company systems, as defined. The bill would additionally revise and recast other provisions applicable to continuing care retirement communities and contracts, including, among other things, requirements relating to application contents, increases in monthly care fees, dividends and distributions, reserve requirements, disclosure of beneficial ownership of a provider, and personal interests of officers of a provider. The bill would enact other related provisions.