News

Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) sent revalidation notices at the end of December to Home and Community-Based Services (provider type 18 organizations starting with letters S and T).

The current round of applications for nursing facility moratorium exceptions has closed. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently informed LeadingAge Minnesota that six care centers submitted proposals for this round. A review committee will hear the proposals in February, and the MDH commissioner will announce the approved projects by April 6.

The Minnesota Department of Health is mailing a combination of COVID-19/Flu A&B rapid test kits to all skilled nursing facilities in the state. Kits should be arriving in the next 2-3 weeks.

LeadingAge Minnesota has developed a new resource for members to help clarify the complex and often confusing infectious illness reporting requirements for our nursing home and assisted living members.

We have revised the Assisted Living Emergency Relocation Notice template to include additional information on appeals and to clarify who needs to receive the notice.

Use our new interactive map to find a NextGeneration Nursing Assistant Training Program (NGNA) or the "NextGen" training program near you. The map includes the contact information for each training program to help you get connected with NextGen students.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) will send Provider Revalidation notices to HCBS providers with names beginning with S and T at the end of December. Affected settings provide waiver services in home and community-based settings, including Adult Day Services and Assisted Living (Customized Living).

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division (DHHSD) at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has created a series of guides to help service providers understand types of hearing loss and possible accommodations:

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.

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.

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).

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) released a Request for Proposal (RFP) hire a consultant who will review the RUGS-IV case mix system used in the state's Value-Based Reimbursement (VBR) care center payment system under Medicaid.

Minnesota's nurse aides hired or who worked during the 1135 waiver now have until April 5, 2023, or the end of the public health emergency (PHE), whichever is sooner, to be placed on the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry.

As of Oct. 3, nurse aide candidates have a maximum of two hours to complete the knowledge test and have up to four chances to pass the knowledge test. We have answers to several frequently asked questions about the nurse aide test.

A section on Assisted Living Contracts was recently added to the FAQ section of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Assisted Living webpage. Included are responses to questions on liability waivers, renter's insurance, and arbitration provisions posed by providers.

The assisted living statutes (144G.52) define an emergency relocation and state that an assisted living facility "may remove a resident from the facility in an emergency if necessary due to a resident's urgent medical needs or an imminent risk the resident poses to the health or safety of another facility resident or facility staff member."