Colorado Governor Signs Act Limiting Amount of Increase in Fees Assessed Against Assisted Living

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on March 1 signed into law a bill limiting the amount of fee hikes that can be assessed against assisted living communities, reports the Colorado General Assembly . Current law authorizes the state board to set a schedule of fees for health communities, including assisted living, which must be enough to cover the Department of Public Health and Environment's direct and indirect regulatory costs. In terms of most department-regulated health communities, the board cannot raise fees by more than the inflation rate, but the inflation rate limitation is inapplicable to the fees calculated by the department against assisted living communities.