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This week, Erin Huppert, Vice President of Advocacy for LeadingAge Minnesota, testified before the Senate Human Services Committee. This informational hearing – no votes or official action could be taken – featured the outgoing chair, Sen. Jim Abeler, and incoming chair, Sen. John Hoffman. The lawmakers spotlighted workforce challenges impacting disability services, long-term care, and non-emergency medical transportation.

The federal government is giving states and providers an ultimatum to make progress on meeting the requirements of the home- and community-based services settings final rule that goes into effect in the spring. Minnesota is only one of 18 States that has already received final approval of the statewide transition plan. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the Minnesota State Transition plan on Feb. 12, 2019.

Minnesota’s medical cannabis program allows for the use of cannabis for Minnesota residents with qualifying medical conditions. On Nov. 30, the Office of Medical Cannabis announced the addition of two new diagnoses to the list: irritable bowel syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

As Jan. 1 approaches, it appears likely that rate notices will not arrive for most care centers by the start of the new rate year. We expect that the rate increase for most care centers will be significant this year because the cost report being used (year-end Sept. 30, 2021) reflects a drop in occupancy and the considerable increase in costs that happened during the pandemic. Therefore, it is time for providers to consider giving notice to private pay residents about increases on Jan. 1.

The White House released a statement on Nov. 22 announcing a six-week campaign targeted to increase COVID-19 vaccinations nationwide. Within the message, the Biden-Harris administration has a section specifically focused on nursing homes and our existing requirement to educate residents and staff on COVID-19 vaccinations and offer vaccination.

This week, Elder Voice Advocates launched Elder Care IQ. The free tool allows users to search for long-term care providers across Minnesota by name or location. The search results summarize key information about each provider, including the number of maltreatment investigations conducted by regulators.

It's time to update your organization's staff roster in LeadingAge Minnesota's records.

Registration for the 2023 Institute & Expo will open the first week of December. To help you prepare for a smooth registration experience, we have sent notices to each member organization with a staff roster to review and update.

The thirteenth edition of the Really Big Book of Nursing Home Regulations is finally here and ready to go! It is now available for pre-order.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation is excited to announce our Seventh Annual Silent Auction, which will take place as part of the 2023 Institute in February. Thanks to the LeadingAge Minnesota community's generosity, the Silent Auction raises funds to support our dedicated caregivers each year. With your help, we can make this year's auction a huge success!

After advocacy from LeadingAge and others, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a change in the calculation of Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAFs) to account for high inflation and sharp increases in property insurance costs.

When Congress convenes next January, the United States will return to a divided government with narrow margins of control in both the US House and US Senate. In the House, Republicans will retake the majority over Democrats. In the Senate, the Democrats will maintain a one or two-vote margin over the Republicans, pending a run-off election in Georgia.

The customized living, 24-hour customized living, and overall case mix caps in the Elderly Waiver (EW) program increase effective Jan. 1, 2023, because they are tied to the rise in care center rates. The 24-hour customized living caps will increase by 9.69%, which is the amount of the 2022 care center increase, and the overall EW caps are going up by 9.63% due to minor rate changes in a couple of EW services.

On Wednesday, Nov. 16, Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm announced that she will retire at the end of Governor Tim Walz's first term on Jan. 3, concluding a career of public service to Minnesota in the administrations of three different governors.

In December, LeadingAge Minnesota is launching our Champions Network, a new advocacy-focused membership group with a mission to advance our public policy goals through grassroots engagement. This group is open to all members and will meet virtually once per month.

Join us for a free one-hour webinar on the Keys to Retaining Staff from a Mental Health Perspective on Dec. 13 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Each month, our national partner, LeadingAge, focuses on a new workforce topic to share tools, articles, and research to help providers take action in their workforce efforts. This month’s focus was on Compensation and Benefits.

Argentum, our national partner for assisted living providers, will host its annual Public Policy Institute March 6-8 at the Hotel Monaco in Washington, DC. Registration for the event is now open.

New software is being developed to create virtual reality (VR) nurse aide skill simulations that align with the Headmaster skills test. Nurse aide training programs and instructors can volunteer to test the VR software to help provide feedback during the final product development stages.

With a handful of races still being verified, Minnesota will no longer be under a divided state government when the Legislature convenes in January. Governor Walz will return for a second term, where he will continue to work with House Democrats, who are projected to retain the majority. The Minnesota Senate surprised pundits, flipping from Republican control to a narrow one-vote Democratic majority.

We are proud to welcome you to the new LeadingAgeMN.org, where you can find timely information and helpful resources to help you serve older adults.

In a special edition of the ALL Together Newsletter sent last week, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reviewed the assisted living license renewal information and provided a list of changes affecting assisted living facilities included in the Health and Human Services Policy Bill passed in the final hours of the 2022 legislative session.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released several changes to COVID-19 guidance over the past two weeks. Members have several questions about the nursing home vaccine mandate, source control and eye protection use, antigen testing of asymptomatic individuals, and resident screening.

On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced her intention to protect employees, to the greatest extent possible, from intrusive or abusive electronic monitoring (described as "omnipresent surveillance") and automated management practices through vigorously enforcing current law and by urging the NLRB to apply settled labor-law principles in a new framework.

Thanks to feedback from several of you, a revised Emergency Relocation Notice template is now available. We have added new language required in all notices that go to residents that passed in the 2021-22 legislative session:

On Nov. 2, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) updated the personal protective equipment (PPE) grid to reflect the guidance updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Sen. Jen McEwen (DFL – Duluth) and Rep. Liz Olson (DFL – Duluth) visited with over 50 staff, volunteers, and residents at Saint Francis Health System's Viewcrest Health Center in Duluth. The lawmakers were hosted by Chet Fishel, Cami Peterson-DeVries, and Brittany Loosbrook of SFHS.

Last week, State Sen. Jeremy Miller (R – Winona) visited Spring Valley Living - a skilled nursing, assisted living, and independent living community in Spring Valley, Minnesota. Heather Sellers, Vice President of Patient Services for Spring Valley Living, hosted the visit. LeadingAge Minnesota staff also attended the meeting.

Anneliese Peterson, who serves as the District G Officer on the LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors, will join Benedictine as its chief operating officer on Dec. 5. She will be responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction across the organization.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG), a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced an additional investigation as part of its 2022 work plan. Its added focus will be on whether skilled nursing facility residents were hospitalized with certain conditions and whether the facility provided services per the resident’s care plan and professional standards of practice.

LeadingAge, our national partner, recently released a Frequently Asked Questions document that covers issues around applying for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC).