March 9, 2023
Featured News
HCBS Settings Rule Implementation Deadline Is Here
On March 9, 2023 by Bobbie Guidry
The Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings Rule became effective on March 17, 2014, with transition activities underway since that time. Due to covid delays, the date for full compliance is March 17.
Assisted living and adult day services are categorized as home and community-based services. While the rule applies to those enrolled in Minnesota Health Care Programs to accept waiver payments for services, Minnesota incorporated several standards for all residents and clients.
A several-year process of developing Minnesota’s State Transition Plan to comply with the new standards culminated in providers attesting to how they would meet each requirement. Minnesota is only one of 18 States that has received final approval of the statewide transition plan. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) approved the Minnesota State Transition plan on Feb. 12, 2019.
CMS site visits
CMS completed on-site visits of several Minnesota HCBS providers in July 2022. CMS provided DHS a written summary of these visits in December 2022, including areas they felt required remediation by providers. These areas included community integration, use of locks on doors, documenting rights modifications, access to food at any time, and staff training. CMS emphasized that for services to be provided in a person-centered way, staff must be trained on each person’s individual plan.
DHS provided this summary to providers who were visited. It identified issues specific to certain sites, and those providers were required to develop remediation plans within 30 days of receiving the summary. These plans include identification and completion dates of the steps that will be taken to bring their sites into compliance. DHS provided a template, information, and technical assistance to assist providers in developing these plans. Remediation plans were submitted to DHS for feedback or technical assistance. DHS informed CMS of the plans to address these issues and is awaiting further input or guidance from CMS.
You can find more information on the visits and Minnesota’s transition plan on the Statewide Transition Plan webpage.
State News
Federal News
Bill Introduced to Add Assisted Living Services to Veteran Benefits
On March 9, 2023 by Bobbie Guidry
A bill introduced by US Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Jon Tester (D-MT), along with Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) to add assisted living services to veterans benefits.
The Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long-Term Care Act would create a small pilot program to offer eligible veterans who participate the option to have their care needs met in an assisted living community rather than at a Department of Veterans Affairs state home.
Currently, VA is not allowed to pay for room and board fees for veterans living at assisted living facilities—preventing many veterans from utilizing this long-term care option. This pilot program will save taxpayer dollars by allowing eligible veterans to access the appropriate level of care for their needs at assisted living facilities, instead of having to seek more costly care at nursing homes.
A press release about the bill includes a quote from our national partners LeadingAge and Argentum, along with other aging services associations: “The leading organizations that represent the assisted living profession applaud the leadership of Sen Tester, Moran, Murray, and Rounds for introducing this legislation. This pilot program makes sense for a number of reasons: it offers a new option in long-term care for veterans, creates significant savings for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and will demonstrate the numerous benefits of assisted living. The VA’s daunting cost estimates for long-term care, both current and in the future, illustrate the need for policies that mitigate the significant financial burden. We are encouraged by this legislation to jump-start these efforts.”
The Senators’ bill received strong backing from various Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and stakeholders nationwide.
Argentum Public Policy Institute Recap
On March 9, 2023 by Mark Schulz
This past week Argentum held its annual Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. The public policy event started on Monday afternoon and culminated with staff advocacy visits with Congressional officials in both the U.S. Senate and House on Wednesday.
Monday and Tuesday were spent learning about the current status of various topics impacting assisted living in the nation and preparing the group for its advocacy day with congressional leaders starting early on Wednesday.
Several influential keynote Congressional speakers spoke to the group about their desires and goals for caring for our aging population and included the co-lead for a new House caucus, the 21st Century Long-Term Care Caucus, Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH), which solely focused on the topic of addressing long-term care needs now and into the future. This freshly established caucus is gaining members and traction at Congress. Its’s goal is to partisan politics aside to deliver real solutions for our nation’s long-term care providers and patients. The caucus will host regular meetings with members and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and advance legislation to make a real difference for our communities.
Other topics discussed and information received included understanding the value of assisted living, preview of Argentum’s Workforce Projections for Senior Care Report highlighting the need to fill over 3 million jobs by 2040.
One special note on was the fact our very own Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minnesota Congressional District 7) was honored to be one of Argentum’s Women in Leadership senior living Congressional champions. She was honored at an evening reception along with other several others.
Notable members who attended and participated in the advocacy efforts with connections to Minnesota event included the following:
- Jessica Lacher, Benedictine Health System
- Dan Merriman, Life Care Services
- Chris Hyatt (and other team members), New Perspectives
- Mark Schulz, LeadingAge Minnesota
If you are not already an Argentum member, please consider it. Argentum membership information can be found here or you can reach out to Luke Jenkins, Director of Member Services, with membership inquiries.
Notable News
Build Your Recruitment Pipelines for Today and Tomorrow
On March 9, 2023 by Anna Mowry
Each month, our national partner LeadingAge, shares workforce tools to help providers take action in their workforce efforts. This month’s focus was on recruitment tools to help you grow your teams to ensure a quality workforce both today and tomorrow.
- Recruit new team members or develop the ones you have using an “earn-and-learn” dual-training approach. Through the Minnesota Dual-Training Pipeline Grant, administered by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, workers receive a combination of related instruction paired with on-the-job training. Applications are open now until April 3.
- Get in front of prospective employees, youth, and your community. Use the resources, Job Fair Checklist, or how to help students get engaged with aging services to get started.
- Need Employees? Marketing and HR Should Collaborate: Read this article to learn about how bringing together HR and marketing teams in your organization can have a positive impact on recruitment efforts.
- Values-Based Recruitment: In this 18-minute QuickCast video, Denise Boudreau outlines how LeadingAge members can make sure their workplace culture is reflected in every touch point with the potential new hire.
If you have specific workforce questions, you can reach out to Anna Mowry, Director of Workforce Solutions at LeadingAge Minnesota.