Oregon passed new regulatory rules for Senior Referral Agents. These rules protect elders and take effect July 1, 2018. See if you're affected. For more information: www.osraa.com

1. Oregon Senior Referral
Agency Association
HB 2661

2. What is a placement agency or referral
agency?
• A senior housing referral agency helps clients locate
appropriate senior housing
• A reputable placement and referral service can save
clients time and energy in their search for senior
housing.
• They should know which communities can supply
appropriate care, social needs and meet client’s
financial considerations in order to refer to the right
type of communities in a given geographic area.
• Referral agency primarily work with private pay clients
• Medicaid clients have Senior Living Options Counselors’ support

3. What to look for in a Referral Agency
• A referral agency should personally tour prospective communities
prior to referring to them.
• They should collect information on both substantiated and
unsubstantiated complaints and be familiar with how the
community is operated.
• Strengths/Weaknesses
• A referral agency should meet with the client to obtain as much
info about the client as possible so that the referral is appropriate
to client and to the community
• A referral agency should provide clients with a list of suitable
senior living options and will tour with their clients
• Ask questions a client may not know to ask
• Point out things of importance/interest

4. Advantages of working with a Referral Agency
• Saves time for social workers, case managers
• Referral agents can narrow down the senior living options based
on location, price, care needs and services offered
• Makes the process a lot less overwhelming during a time of crisis and/or
transition
• Referral agents do not charge for their services

5. Oregon Senior Referral Agency Association
History
• Formally organized in 2004
• Consists of 16 Senior Referral Agencies throughout the state of
Oregon
• Common Bylaws and Code of Ethics
• Reviewed annually
• Two educational CEU accredited conferences per year
• Extremely collaborative
• OSRAA phone line
• Share updates on communities
• Help with suggestions for specific needs

6. Oregon Senior Referral Agency Association
Legislative History
• Actively started pursuing legislation 2009
• House Bill 2661 introduced and passed 2017
• Goal: Consumer protection, Referral agencies are the
only step in the continuum of care with no oversight
• Local and National Referral agencies lobbied in the
House and Senate and provided public testimonial

7. Key Components of HB2661
• All referral agents have to be registered with DHS
• All referral agents must have criminal background
check
• All referral agents must have a full disclosure about
how we work and how we are compensated
• All referral agents are mandatory reporters
• All agencies must carry at least $1 million in general
liability insurance

8. HB 2661 Rules
• The rules define
• “Long Term Care Referral” means a referral to a facility
for which the referral agent receives compensation of any
kind from the facility.
• Compensation” means any substantive financial or
material gain in an amount of $1,000 or more during a
calendar year in exchange for providing long term care
referral services,
• including but not limited to gain by salary, benefits,
commission, payment, gift cards, donations, discounts, and
other items of value that result in financial or material gain
to the person providing long term care referral services.

9. Referral Agent
• Referral agent does not include
• A facility or its employees unless the facility or
employees receive compensation for a long term care
referral
• A resident or patron of a facility who refers a client to
the facility and receives a discount or other
remuneration from the facility
• An individual who provides referrals but is not
compensated for that referral

10. Registration with DHS
• Referral agent who provides long term referrals must be
registered with DHS
• Before entering into agreement to provide long term care
referrals to a client
• Before soliciting prospective clients and facilities
• Before collecting compensation from a facility for placement
of a client
• Within 30 days of receiving over $1000 in compensation for
referrals
• The registry of registered Referral Agents will be
available on line

11. Registration
• Registration must include registration fees ($750/$500)
• Disclosure statement
• Proof of General Liability insurance ($1M)
• Background Checks for all who have direct contact with
clients and/or with their personal, financial or medical
information
• Renewed every two years
• DHS will issue a certificate once approved

12. Disclosure Statement
• Written by DHS with committee input
• Includes:
• Description of the referral to be provided by the referral agent; including length
of any contract referral agent has with facility regarding placement information
about the client or subect of placement
• Referral agent’s contact info including address and phone number
• Referral agent’s privacy policy
• Statement of whether referral agent provides referrals only to facilities with
which the agent has an existing contract
• Statement of whether the referral fees for the referral will be paid to the
referral agenty by the facility
• Can be made orally if the referral agent makes an audio recording and
thereafter provides client with a written disclosure

13. One and Done
• One and Done
• If a client moves out of the first community into another
they may end relationship with first placement agency
and work with another agency
• Client must notify the first referral agent in writing that
they wish to use services of another referral agent in the
future fo referral to another facility
• After receiving notice in writing the first referral agent may
not receive compensation from another facility in a
subsequent move
• New Referral agency must provide evidence to subsequent
facility that the first agent is not entitled to compensation

14. Prohibited Activities
• A referral agent may not share a client’s placement info with or
sell a client’s placement info to a facility or marketing affiliate
without obtaining affirmative consent from the client for each
instance of sharing or selling the information
• A referral agent may not refer a client to a facility in which the
referral agent or an immediate family member of the referral
agent has an ownership interest
• A referral agent may not contact a client who has requested in
writing that the referral agent stop contacting the client

15. Client Records
• A referral agent must provide a client access to the client’s
records retained by the referral agent within 30 calendar days of
the client’s request
• A referral agent must maintain a client’s records for a minimum of
three years after the client is no longer receiving services from
that referral agent

16. Special Provisions
• If a referral agent maintains a website, the website must contain
a link to any state agency website listing complaints concerning
facilities
• If the agent doesn’t maintain a website, the referral agent shall notify
clients in writing of the state agency website address listing complaints

17. Registration Process
• Fees
• $750 for first 2 years, $500 thereafter
• Application
• Disclosure statement
• Proof of general liability insurance
• Background checks

18. Administrative Sanctions
• An administrative sanction may be imposed by
DHS for non-compliance with these rules. An
administrative sanction includes one or more of
the following actions
• Civil penalties
• Not to exceed $5000 per violation
• May be assessed for person operating as a referral agent without
registration
• Denial, suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew
registration
• Referral agencies can request hearings about the sanctions

19. Effective Date
• Bill goes into effect July 1, 2018

20. Contact A Referral Agency (OSRAA members)
503-305-3878
Portland OSRAA members rotate
answering the phone weekly