The Maine Health and Human Services Committee is considering adopting the sweeping changes to the Assisted Housing Programs Licensing Rule (Chapter 113) – and your voice is urgently needed.
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What’s Happening:
Legislators are currently reviewing LD 979, which includes major substantive changes to the rules governing assisted living and residential care facilities. These changes will:
Significantly increase staffing ratios (among the highest in the U.S.)
Require additional administrators and eliminate the use of ancillary staff in staffing counts
Create new training mandates and regulatory burdens
Result in the reclassification or closure of some memory care beds
Be implemented without any financial support
These regulations were developed without meaningful consultation with providers, despite a legal requirement to do so.
Why It Matters:
The rule could force facilities to reduce beds or close, displacing vulnerable older adults.
Maine already faces a long term care workforce crisis—facilities cannot hire staff who don’t exist.
The cost of compliance is estimated at $30–$40 million annually, with no new funding identified.
Data do not support claims of significant increases in resident acuity or unsafe conditions.
What You Can Do:
Contact the Health and Human Services Committee and Urge Them to Vote NO on LD 979
Tell lawmakers that long term care providers need sustainable, collaborative rulemaking, not unfunded mandates.
Key Talking Points:
These rules were developed without proper provider engagement, in violation of state law.
Maine’s staffing ratios would be among the highest in the country—with no plan to fund them.
Data show no major increase in acuity or rise in substantiated complaints.
Without funding, this rule could accelerate long term care closures, further straining Maine’s system.
Need help drafting testimony? Contact us at [email protected]
Let’s work together for policies that protect residents and preserve access to care.