By Don Heinzman

Funding long-term-care providers and facilities is in a critical stage at the Minnesota Legislature this session.

The highly regulated long-term care center industry (once known as nursing homes) needs more state funding just to stay close to even in providing care to the ever-growing number of aging residents.

Demographers are predicting that by the year 2020, Minnesota will have more senior residents than school children.

The state controls the long-term care industry by regulating the number of nursing home beds, setting the rates and providing the Medicaid funding. Unlike most industries, care centers cannot set higher rates, even for those who pay with private funds.

A study shows that the nursing home industry is nearly $25 of-care-per-day short of what it costs to provide the services.

Failure to receive the promised assistance contained in a law passed last year can only mean a reduction in care to ill senior citizens.

Last year the legislature passed a bill to close the spending gap of $25 per day between need and funding (rebasing) in eight years and provided for a 1.7 percent cost of living increase in phase one this year.

In this tight economy and with the Legislature needing to find $936 million in expenditure cuts, the state aid for long-term care providers is under the magnifying glass.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s spokesperson says the governor wants to substitute a 2 percent COLA for the rebasing money and is open to a 2 percent COLA increase if it can be funded within the state’s budget constraints.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance disputes the governor’s offer saying he wants to repeal the rebasing plan, a 1.7 percent increase, and provide no cost of living increase for this year.

A bill in the House that is preferred by long-term-care advocates would provide for a 2 percent COLA, while the Senate bill has no cuts for nursing home services and doesn’t propose a 2 percent increase. The cost of a 2 percent COLA is approximately $6 to $8 million.

Without the 2 percent increase, nursing homes that didn’t get a rebasing percentage, would get no new money this year.

The House and Senate are trying to settle differences at a conference committee, as a part of the process for deciding the budget for next year.

Another issue has been the source of increased funding.

Gov. Pawlenty has favored using $250 million of health care access dollars to pay for health care, which is now funded by the general fund to help balance the budget. The governor, according to his spokesperson, is open to using some of the Health Care Access Funding surplus for long term programs.

Long-term care providers insist that their priority is health care and that they should be eligible for those health care access dollars.

Last week at a rally, a petition signed by 11,000 asked for more state funding, and decreed that over the last six years the state funding is 13 percent behind the rate of inflation.

Rep. Marty Seifert, Republican minority leader in the House, said there is bi-partisan support on the need to support long-term care and staff. He said the Legislature should be able to increase the funds for long-term care and balance the budget.

Now is the time for those who want better long-term care for Minnesota citizens to speak to their legislators.

---

Social Bookmarking ...