Section 420-D:12 Contracts With Residents.
I. Each contract between a provider and a resident shall:
(a) Be written in plain, non-technical language.
(b) Cover only one resident, or 2 if sharing the same unit, and shall include the total amount transferred by the resident, or on behalf of the resident, to the provider. If securities or real or personal property are transferred to the provider instead of cash, the provider shall describe exactly the securities, property, or other goods transferred and the market value of securities or the professional appraised value of property or goods as of the date they were tendered.
(c) State specifically and in full detail all services and items to be provided to the resident including the locations where services and items will be provided, the duration of such services, and how often they are to be provided. The contract shall also describe which services or items are included in the agreement for continuing care and which services or items will be made available by the provider at an extra cost to the resident.
(d) State the conditions upon which the provider may evict a resident and the conditions upon which a resident may terminate his residency. A statement as to what portion of the entrance fee shall be returned under each condition shall also be included in accordance with RSA 420-D:12, II.
(e) Describe conditions required for a person to continue as a resident.
(f) Describe any conditions under which a person delinquent in his periodic payments may remain and if there is a specific time limit.
(g) State the entrance fees and periodic payment changes that may occur if a resident marries or if a spouse joins a resident. It shall also state the fee changes that may occur if either one of the 2 people who occupy the same living unit dies or otherwise leaves that living unit.
(h) Describe the terms and conditions under which a provider or a resident may cancel an agreement for continuing care. The contract shall also state that a minimum of 30 days' notice of cancellation must be given, except that a written medical finding by 2 doctors that a resident is a danger to himself or others shall require only reasonable notice.
(i) Describe in clear detail all the terms under which a contract is cancelled upon the departure or death of a resident.
(j) State the basis upon which the entrance fees are earned by the provider at the death of a resident, what portion, if any, shall be turned over to the estate of the resident, and the formula for calculating all amounts earned by the provider.
(k) Describe the conditions under which periodic payments may change. The contract shall state that a 60-day notice is required before a change in periodic payments shall take effect, except those periodic payments required by federal or state assistance programs.
(l) State that periodic payments for care paid in a lump sum shall not be changed during the period covered, unless the resident is receiving federal or state assistance and the change is mandated by those programs.
(m) Provide a period of 10 days during which a prospective resident may cancel a contract and have his deposit returned and that there is no requirement to move in during those 10 days.
(n) Provide that, within the 10 days under subparagraph (m), the provider shall make a full refund of all money, securities, goods, or property tendered by the prospective resident, except for any non-refundable initial application fee that does not exceed one month's periodic charges and any payments for actual services or goods provided to the prospective resident.
(o) Describe under what conditions a resident may be transferred to another living unit or another part of the facility together with the financial adjustments to be made as a result of such changes.
(p) Provide for full refund, except any initial non-refundable application fee of less than one month's periodic payment, if, before occupancy, death occurs or if there is a medically certified incapacity to move in.
II. (a) No contract issued pursuant to this section shall allow dismissal of a resident prior to the end of a contractual period, except for just cause in written form or if 2 doctors, one of whom is not an employee or associated with the facility, find that the resident is a danger to himself or to others. In such cases, the minimum refund shall be the unearned portion of the entrance fee in the contract with the resident.
(b) The commissioner or his designee shall intervene prior to a dismissal if so requested by the resident. If the commissioner finds that a resident is being or has been unjustly dismissed, he may, in his capacity as the intervenor, order the return of the entire entrance fee or take any other necessary action on behalf of a resident.
Source. 1988, 44:2, eff. Jan. 1, 1989.