NSCLC has adopted the following statement of policy concerning negotiated risk agreements in connection with assisted living and long-term care arrangements:

"The National Senior Citizens Law Center is opposed to any use of negotiated risk agreements. Negotiated risk agreements release long-term care facilities from their legal responsibilities to provide adequate care, without providing any benefit to facility residents. Negotiated risk agreements are illegal and unenforceable under existing law, which prohibits a business from using a consumer contract to release itself from the legal responsibility to provide adequate care and safe accommodations. Admission to a long-term care facility is traumatic and confusing for residents and their families. Particularly given the vulnerability of residents during the time of admission, negotiated risk agreements are one-sided and unfair. Residents should be able to make choices regarding their lives without signing away their rights."