Gov. Walz Releases Proposed Workforce Budget; Implications for Long-Term Care

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Erin Huppert

This morning, Governor Tim Walz released a preview of his proposed budget addressing Minnesota's workforce challenges. This preview covers a variety of sectors and includes some investments benefitting aging services.

Statutes require the Governor to provide a proposed budget to the Legislature every two years. However, the appropriation of funding and policy must originate from the Legislature. Many legislators have already signaled that their priorities may diverge from the Governor's. The House, Senate, and Administration will ultimately negotiate a final budget package over the next five months.

What we know so far

The details of the entire budget have not yet been released, but we have some information about several items that will benefit aging services and the people served in our settings. Gov. Walz proposes in part of his budget to allocate the following:

• Approximately $30 million per biennium of Health Care Access Fund dollars toward financial support, incentives, and mental health resources to revitalize and begin rebuilding the healthcare workforce
• $3 million per biennium to continue the Next Generation Nursing Assistant Training Program to lower the barriers to the training and certification of nursing assistants in Minnesota
• Almost $150 million over two biennia for rate increases in the Elderly Waiver program to support older adults and their needs in community settings, including assisted living
• Over $80 million in inflationary updates for waivered services for people with disabilities
• $80 million over two biennia for provider capacity grants, including recruiting, training, and onboarding New Americans into long-term care positions

What happens next?

This is a breaking news item. LeadingAge Minnesota is seeking to obtain more information, including the amount of proposed rate increases, effective dates, and other critical details. We will share more as soon as we have it.

The Governor is scheduled to release a preview of his healthcare budget early next week. We look forward to seeing any additional commitment to long-term care. We will share more details as soon as they are available.