Proposed regulations under Massachusetts’s consumer protection law are duplicative and threaten to undermine the assisted living model in that state, according to senior living industry groups.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell released draft regulations for assisted living residences in April after seeking public input in 2025. The newly proposed regulations under the state’s consumer protection law are aimed at protecting residents from unfair and deceptive practices, including misrepresentation of available services, improper fees and unlawful evictions.
After an April 29 public hearing and a public comment period that ended May 1, Campbell indicated she plans to release final regulations over the summer.
Campbell launched the assisted living regulation initiative in 2024 following consumer complaints. That scrutiny was heightened following the July 2025 deadly fire that killed 10 residents of Gabriel House in Fall River. The regulations, which align with the state’s Assisted Living Residences Commission’s recommendations issued in January, focus on financial protections and billing transparency, protection against misrepresentation of services, contractual and eviction protections, and complaint and reporting mechanisms.
More than 17,000 people live in more than 270 certified assisted living communities in Massachusetts, according to the state Executive Office of Aging & Independence, or AGE.
The industry responds
In a May 1 letter to the state regarding the proposals, Heather O. Berchem, a partner with Harris Beach Murtha and legal counsel to the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association, raised concerns about the proposed regulations obstructing assisted living’s priorities to maintain a residential, non-institutional environment; assure different models of assisted living can thrive; and avoid costly or burdensome regulatory requirements.
“While Mass-ALA supports the majority of provisions in the proceed regulations, we are concerned that some of these provisions will put the increasingly popular assisted living residence model at risk,” Berchem wrote. “By imposing standards applicable to institutional rather than residential models, these proposed regulations will increase costs, putting assisted living out of reach of many families and slowing the growth of units needed for our aging population.”
In written testimony, LeadingAge Massachusetts cited its work with AGE as part of the Assisted Living Commission. President and CEO Elissa Sherman said the process was collaborative and included providers, advocates and policymakers that developed recommendations to strengthen consumer protections, increase transparency and improve disclosure practices across the assisted living sector.
“We are encouraged by the progress of that work and believe it reflects a comprehensive and balanced approach to advancing resident protections,” Sherman wrote.
Proposed regulations regarding new enforcement options for AGE, including the assessment of fees for noncompliance, are in the public comment process and not yet finalized.
“Before promulgating new, redundant and at times conflicting regulations, we respectfully urge the Attorney General’s Office to defer to the regulatory framework currently under consideration by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging and Independence, the agency with primary oversight responsibility for assisted living certification and operations,” Sherman wrote. “Establishing separate regulatory requirements and separate disclosure frameworks through different state agencies risks creating duplication, inconsistency and confusion for both consumers and providers.”
Sherman raised further concerns about provisions that appear to require assisted living communities to accept Medicaid-related payments through reimbursement models that do not reflect the full cost of care. She said mandating participation could create financial instability for residents, reduce provider capacity, limit innovation and undermine the sustainability of the assisted living model.
Both LeadingAge Massachusetts and Mass-ALA’s comments detailed concerns about various provisions in the proposed regulations tied to fees, complaints, third-party guarantors, disclosures, staff qualifications and training, and contracts.
“Assisted living in Massachusetts has grown by more than 20% over the last decade because older adults and their families have chosen a model that offers independence, dignity and personalized care in residential, non-institutional settings,” Mass-ALA President and CEO Brian Doherty told McKnight’s Senior Living. “These regulations, as written, create conflicting and onerous operational requirements that put that model at risk at precisely the moment when more Massachusetts families need access to it.”
Doherty asked Campbell to work with Mass-ALA and other stakeholders to “get this right.”
