No matter what degree of care they might need in the future—assisted living, memory care, or skilled nursing—the admission fee ensures residents a position for life at the retirement community. Additionally, residents or their heirs are allegeable receive a portion of the fee back when they move out or pass on. Here’s everything you need to know about how retirement homes in Dallas, TX work and how they are regulated.
How Continuing Care Retirement Communities Work
Entrance fees, monthly fees, and charges for extra services like grooming and beauty services are how CCRCs normally generate revenue.
High occupancy rates allow CCRCs to sustain the business through monthly fees and additional revenue earned from things like purchasing meals for residents. However, the model begins to fall apart when occupancy declines because of increased competition and situations like a global pandemic.
However, the model begins to fall apart when occupancy declines because of increased competition and situations like a global pandemic.
Entrance fees for CCRC residents are mitigated by the fact that as higher levels of care are required, their monthly payments either remain the same or increase only slightly. Advocates say that it improves cost predictability and results in long-term financial savings.
How Continuing Care Retirement Communities Are Regulated
For CCRCs, there is no federal oversight. The attorney general’s office is the principal enforcement body for the Texas Department of Insurance, which oversees CCRCs in the state.
To be able to provide resident refunds in the case of a financial emergency or a major disaster, some states mandate that CCRCs maintain a specific amount of cash reserves. This is not the case in Texas.
David Drumm, a partner at the Dallas-based Carrington Coleman law firm, says he thinks that “Most residents feel like that money is always going to be there. And if everything works great, then it will be”
When it comes to how strictly the state controls CCRCs, Texas is in the center of the pack. A disclosure-based regulatory framework in Texas mandates that CCRCs give customers factual information about their business practices, the terms of their contracts, and how they manage their money.
A disclosure-based regulatory framework in Texas mandates that CCRCs give customers factual information about their business practices, the terms of their contracts, and how they manage their money.
CCRCs with contracts demanding admission fees greater than three months’ worth of payments must obtain a license. In Texas, there are 36 CCRCs with licenses. The TDI evaluates the financial and disclosure statements of CCRCs annually.
TDI works closely with the CCRC’s owner and administration to resolve concerns and safeguard residents when it experiences financial difficulties.
If a CCRC declares bankruptcy, the TDI pushes for approval of a bankruptcy plan that adheres to the terms of in the contracts of current residents.
How to Select the Right Retirement Community For You
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities “strongly advises” hiring a financial expert to review the financial condition of any CCRC being considered given the stakes.
Choosing a trustworthy retirement community is undoubtedly a difficult task. Hear from our customers themselves, and check out our senior living reviews to see what residents are saying about our community, and check out our senior living options to find out more.
