Continuing Care Retirement Communities

In response to a few client inquiries and my own personal interest, I spent some time recently refreshing my knowledge of Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) in North Carolina.  Below I share an overview of what I learned along with some web links for further information.

(from the NC CCRC 2022 Reference Guide, https://www.ncdoi.gov/media/1020/open)

In general, CCRCs are communities that provide a continuum of care to older adults under a contract for the life of an individual or for a period longer than 1 year.  Typically, there are three levels / stages of care offered:

1. Independent Living – is for individuals who are capable of doing the basic chores of everyday life but who may need occasional assistance from others.
2. Assisted Living – provides assistance for residents with chronic care needs excluding complete 24-hour skilled nursing care. Assisted living services include helping a resident with bathing, dressing, taking medications, and other daily activities.
3. Skilled Nursing Care – generally provides 24-hour nursing care, rehabilitative services, and assistance with activities of daily living to the chronically ill as well as to those who have been hospitalized for an illness or operation and require a short period of rehab before returning home.

CCRCs are generally a collection of apartments, town homes, or cottages and include common activity areas such as a library, activity and craft rooms, a restaurant-like dining room, an assisted living facility, and a nursing home.  Other amenities often include banking services, convenience stores, walking trails, gardens, swimming pool, fitness center beauty/barber shops, and guest accommodations.

I recently attended a two-hour webinar hosted by a local CCRC, during which the presenters explained the four different types of CCRCs in NC. They also shared resources available on the NC Department of Insurance website regarding CCRCs. Below is an outline of the four types of communities that were discussed.

• Type A – Extensive/ Life Care
  • Extensive contracts provide housing, residential services, and health related services in exchange for a price, usually consisting of an entrance fee and a monthly fee. No additional fees are generally required as one moves from one level of care to another.
• Type B – Modified
  • Modified contracts provide housing, residential services, and a specified amount of health-related services in exchange for an entrance fee and a monthly fee. Health-related services are provided at a subsidized rate or are free for a specified number of days.
• Type C – Fee-For-Service
  • Fee-for-Service contracts provide housing, residential services, and priority access to health-related services in exchange for an entrance fee and a monthly fee. Health related services are provided at the going, full per-diem rate.
• Type D – Rental
  • Rental contracts usually require no entrance fee but include, at a minimum, preferred or priority access to health-related services at full per-diem rates.

Visit the following NC Department of Insurance links for detailed information regarding CCRCs in NC:

Continuing Care Retirement Communities Main Page

Continuing Care Retirement Community Reference Guide

Full List of Licensed Continuing Care Retirement Communities in North Carolina

In NC, CCRC ‘Disclosure Statements’ (updated annually) provide key details about each community.  Visit the below link for a list of CCRC’s and their respective Disclosure Statements.

https://www.ncdoi.gov/licensees/continuing-care-retirement-communities-ccrc/continuing-care-retirement-communities-disclosure-statements