Last week, the House passed the omnibus Health and Human Services budget bill (HF 927). Debate lasted over 10 hours, and the final vote on the bill occurred at 2:30 a.m. with a 70-62 vote. The bill includes $1.6 billion in cuts to health and human services, including $4.4 million in cuts to care centers and $27.4 million in cuts to the Elderly Waiver program.
The bill includes $27.4 million in cuts to the Elderly Waiver program. The majority of the cut comes from a 10 percent reduction to component rates for Customized Living. Previously, the bill did not include language that correlated to that cut, but the savings are being tracked on the spreadsheet and the language was added on the House floor as a “technical amendment.”
The bill also contains several reductions that match the Governor’s proposals, including changes to case mix L and eligibility for 24-hour customized living.
The bill had previously included a provision that would have capped EW spending at 2009 spending levels, which would have reduced EW spending by more than $28 million for the biennium. That cap was removed earlier in the week in the Ways and Means committee.
The bill will now need to go to a conference committee for the House and the Senate to sort out the differences between the bills. Conferees have not yet been appointed.
Aging Services of Minnesota and Care Providers of Minnesota are part of the Long-Term Care Imperative that advocates for older adults in Minnesota.
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