Kansas House Bill HB2370

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/7/25
• Refer: 2/7/25

Caption

Requiring additional licensing requirements for assisted living facilities with dementia care.

Summary

HB 2370 creates a new optional certification for Kansas assisted living facilities that provide dementia care services. A facility that seeks the designation “assisted living facility with dementia care” would have to meet state standards for leadership experience, dementia-specific training, staffing adequacy, activity programming, and resident care practices. The bill also requires that only certified facilities may advertise or publicly hold themselves out as offering specialized dementia or memory care under that designation. The bill directs the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services to establish rules, approve training programs, evaluate certification applications, and enforce compliance. It also requires annual or biennial dementia-care training for staff working with memory care residents, and it allows the department to impose additional requirements or enforcement action when inspections or complaints show significant deficiencies or failure to meet residents’ individual needs. Facilities that choose certification would have 12 months to comply after enactment.

Impact

HB 2370 would amend Kansas long-term care law by adding a new certification category within Article 9 of Chapter 39 for assisted living facilities with dementia care. It would affect assisted living providers that choose to offer memory care by imposing licensing-label requirements, staff training mandates, care and activity standards, and notice and transition rules if a facility later relinquishes the certification. The bill also expands the department’s regulatory authority over these facilities and ties the special designation to the facility’s license and advertising practices.

Sentiment

The available context suggests generally supportive sentiment, with the bill requested on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association and referred to the House Committee on Health and Human Services. The bill’s purpose and structure indicate a consumer-protection and quality-of-care focus rather than a broad policy dispute. No committee transcript or vote record is available here, so there is no evidence of recorded opposition or amendment debate in the provided materials.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is the added regulatory burden on assisted living facilities that choose to seek dementia care certification, including staffing, training, documentation, and transition requirements. Facilities may also be concerned about restrictions on advertising specialized memory care unless they obtain the certification. On the other hand, advocates for residents and families are likely to support the bill’s emphasis on standardized training, staffing adequacy, and clearer oversight to reduce misleading claims and improve care for people with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.