Care Providers Action - March 28, 2008
Volume XXIII, Edition 13 (Plain Text Version)

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Status Report on Legislative Budget Bills

By Jonathan Lips

You received several email alerts this week giving you the “play by play” details of the supplemental budget development in the House and the Senate.  We are at the stage of the legislative session when there is a flurry of activity in each legislative body to develop and pass their budget proposals.  Once that is completed—passing budget divisions, Finance Committees and the House and Senate floors (likely by early next week)—there will be a budgetary “waiting period” as differences between the Governor, Senate and House are identified and reconciled.  Our advocacy and your grass-roots connections are critical during the next stages of budget development.  Here is where we stand at press time in the House and Senate:

Senate   The Senate Health and Human Services Budget Division passed its supplemental budget proposal Wednesday night, which includes funding reductions for long-term care.  Although the reductions are smaller than what the Governor proposed, we obviously are still disappointed—our "ask" this year has been for increases above and beyond what passed last year.

The Senate cuts come from delaying the effective dates of scheduled rate increases as follows:

• For home and community-based services providers, the 2% cost of living adjustment (COLA) that is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2008, is pushed back to October 1, 2008. (In 2007, the Legislature moved up the effective date of this year's rate increases for Elderly Waiver, GRH, and other programs from October to July; the Senate bill would move the date back again.)
• For nursing facilities, the implementation of rebasing is delayed from October 1, 2008, to January 1, 2009.  The phase-in percentage (13%) remains the same, and without our floor/ceiling amending language there will be a significant number of nursing facilities receiving either no increase or less than 1%.  This is the only increase in the budget for nursing homes—there is no additional funding for cost of living adjustments.

House   The Minnesota House of Representatives released the details of their bill targets and spending proposals for health and human services Tuesday.  Responding to strong grassroots efforts by the provider community, leadership rejected the cuts proposed by Governor Pawlenty, leaving intact the scheduled two percent COLA for elderly waiver and the current language and implementation schedule for rebasing for nursing facilities.  The House position includes several million more for all long-term care providers compared to the Senate position.

However, the House bill includes no additional funding for long-term care beyond what passed last session; and no modifications to nursing facility rebasing were included.  This means that under the House bill an estimated 125 care centers will either receive no increase or an increase for 2008 of less than 1%.

Jonathan Lips
952.851.2480
jlips@careproviders.org