Counseling Required for Assisted Living?

[july541]

There's been much talk about a law passed in the state of Minnesota requiring that families receive counseling before moving into assisted living. Will this gain popularity and other states follow suit?
The law has received much criticism both from the assisted living industry and the public. It may seem to stem from the good intention of helping seniors and their families to determine whether assisted living is the most affordable and most appropriate option for them. Indeed counseling may be a good idea for seniors considering assisted living. However, as with many mandates of this sort the driver behind it is primarily monetary. The state seeks to save money through this measure by presumably preventing unnecessary assisted living placements, and where assisted living is deemed necessary steering seniors to more affordable options.
Most assisted living residents pay with private funds so seniors and their families are rejecting the counseling requirement with the argument that the government should have no control over how they spend their own money. The government however argues that some assisted living residents will eventually utilize public funds when their own funds are depleted (12% currently in MN), therefore a families decision to place a loved one in assisted living can impact the state's budget. Lastly, assisted living communities are concerned about how this will impact their business and argue that at this point in the decision making process the counseling is too late to be helpful.