Transcript Generated by AI 00:00 Mark Parkinson here for Park Place with another Park view, 00:03 and today I'm gonna give you an opinion that I think 00:06 some of you probably disagree with. 00:08 I'm relatively certain of it, 00:10 and it's important that we decide on this as we 00:13 determine what public policy should be in the future. 00:16 And so here's my opinion. 00:17 My opinion is that assisted living will never 00:20 ever be regulated at the federal level. 00:23 I just don't think there will ever be federal regulation. 00:26 Now, 00:27 why is that a controversial opinion? 00:28 It's a controversial opinion because for the 30 00:31 years that I've been involved in assisted living, 00:34 The smartest people in the room have always said 00:37 it's not a matter of if 00:39 but when AL will be regulated at the federal level. 00:43 The sector has been certain that at some point. 00:47 Largely because we get Medicaid money from 00:49 the federal government and from the states, 00:52 largely because the system of living has grown so much. 00:54 The conventional opinion has been that eventually 00:57 we're going to be federally regulated. 00:59 I believed that for probably like the 1st 10 years that I was involved 01:03 in the sector because it was all the smart people that were saying it. 01:06 But then I really started to doubt it. 01:09 And I've reflected upon my time as a state legislator, 01:11 as a governor, 01:12 and really being involved in politics for a long time, 01:14 and it really crossed my mind that 01:16 the dynamics that would have to exist 01:19 for assisted living to be regulated federally are probably not going 01:24 to exist. 01:25 What it would take would be 01:27 complete democratic control of everything in DC, 01:30 the House, 01:30 the Senate, 01:31 and the presidency. 01:32 A catastrophic event in an assisted living facility or a group of facilities, 01:37 and then the political will 01:39 for the regulation to occur. 01:41 Well, 01:41 guess what? 01:42 We've been through that scenario, 01:45 and we weren't regulated. 01:46 I mean, 01:47 in 2020, 01:48 we had the election of President Biden, 01:50 Democratic House, 01:51 the Democratic Senate. 01:52 Assisted living had been coming off the worst catastrophe that we've had in the, 01:56 in the history of the sector. 01:57 Everything was lined up 02:00 for federal regulation, 02:01 and yet there wasn't even a whiff of it. 02:03 There was one day of hearings during that four-year period of time 02:07 on assisted living. 02:09 It's very, 02:10 very hard for policymakers to get anything done in DC 02:14 even when one party controls everything 02:16 and the associations and providers are now strong enough 02:20 that I think the federal regulation for assisted living is just not going to happen. 02:24 Why does this matter? 02:25 It matters because there are still people in the sector that say that it will, 02:29 so we should go up to Capitol Hill with our own federal regulatory scheme, 02:33 or we should develop some standards that need to be 02:35 followed across the country that could create a problem. 02:39 With plaintiffs' lawyers, 02:40 and again, 02:41 I just think their premise is wrong. 02:43 It's just not going to happen. 02:45 So what are the lessons of this? 02:46 Well, 02:46 I think there are two. 02:48 The first is that we need to continue to 02:50 fund the federal associations that keep this from happening. 02:53 This doesn't mean that we need to not worry about it. 02:55 It means that the dynamics that keep it from happening 02:59 need to be funded. 03:00 Let's continue to support the associations. 03:03 The second thing it means is that we have to 03:04 be really responsible about regulation at the state level. 03:07 I think all of us believe that some regulation should occur. 03:11 Obviously it occurs at the states, 03:13 and it needs to be adequate enough at the state level that 03:16 residents are protected, 03:18 and yet providers 03:19 can still function in a reasonable way. 03:22 If there are essentially no regulations at the 03:24 state level or if there are massive loopholes 03:27 in the long run, 03:28 that won't be good for anyone. 03:31 So the next time you're at a cocktail party or a 03:33 reception for an association and you hear the same old line, 03:36 it's not a matter of if, 03:37 but when we get regulated, 03:39 send somebody the link to this video. 03:41 It's not gonna happen. 03:42 We're in really, 03:43 really good shape on that front. 03:45 Thank you for supporting uh Park Place. 03:47 We appreciate your support of this community.
