Florida’s insurance commissioner said Monday that he will “strongly advocate for more oversight control” over continuing care retirement communities in the state after an investigation found that residents of one CCRC lost a collective $30 million in entrance fees and that the community violated the state’s insurance code.
Tampa Life Plan Village also “mistreated” residents, according to a press release from Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky. He has referred the case “for further criminal investigation.”
“The level of mismanagement in this case and pure lack of empathy and quality of care for Tampa Life’s senior residents was unprecedented and shocking,” Yaworsky said in a press release issued Monday. “There are many outstanding CCRC facilities in Florida that are great options for our seniors — unfortunately, Tampa Life was not one of these options. We must ensure this type of mismanagement never happens again, and I will continue to strongly advocate for more oversight control over these facilities.”
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation began investigating Tampa Life Plan Village in March 2024, finding that the community had never provided accurate financial filings to the agency since it purchased the community out of bankruptcy in 2020, according to the press release, which stated that Big Rock Management Company oversaw day-to-day operations at the CCRC, formerly known as University Village.
According to the press release, Tampa Life Plan Village and its board of directors “mismanaged residential services, including shelter and nursing care, for more than 100 senior residents.” The community also reportedly “failed to provide the contractual services to its residents, as required by the life care contracts approved by OIR.”
Due to mismanagement, the investigation found, the CCRC became insolvent and went back into bankruptcy. Consequently, all residents had to be relocated.
OIR’s financial examination of Tampa Life was interrupted on Feb. 28 when the bankruptcy court issued a Joint Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for the CCRC.
The report lists “nine significant and damning findings against the facility,” according to the commissioner’s office “OIR referred these findings to the Department of Financial Services, Bureau of Criminal Investigation Division and stands ready to assist other agencies with ongoing efforts to ensure accountability,” according to the press release.
Florida has 72 CCRCs, which fall under the regulatory umbrella of the state OIR because they offer life care contracts that provide for a continuum of care at a single community throughout a resident’s retirement.
Source: McKnights Seniorliving
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