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Senate committee considers VBR update bill to shore up nursing facility rates and support caregiver wages
Summary
Senator Nick Hoffman presented Senate File 17 25, a proposal to adjust value-based reimbursement and elderly waiver rates to better reflect costs and labor market conditions in long-term care.
Senator Nick Hoffman presented Senate File 17 25, a proposal to adjust the state's value-based reimbursement (VBR) and elderly waiver rate processes to better reflect current costs and labor market conditions in long-term care.
Toby Pearson, president and CEO of Care Providers of Minnesota, testified the governor's budget would undo gains made since VBR's enactment and leave providers unable to sustain wage growth. Pearson told the committee the sector saw a nearly 70% increase in caregiver wages since VBR began, compared with far smaller gains prior to VBR, and warned that the combination of the governor's proposed cuts and unfunded mandates by the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board would place nursing facilities in an unsustainable position.
Administrators and provider representatives, including Laura Salonek (Good Samaritan, Howard Lake), Brady Jonsrud (Nelson Care Center), and Carrie Thurlow (LeadingAge Minnesota), described local impacts and urged annual rate adjustments for elderly waiver services and funding to cover the board mandates. Speakers said vacancies have dropped from an earlier high but remain above pre-pandemic levels, with providers still estimating thousands of open positions across the sector.
The committee laid SF 17 25 over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.
Why it matters: The VBR system determines how nursing homes and elderly waiver services are reimbursed; rate updates affect wages, access and provider solvency.
Actions at a glance: - Senate File 17 25: laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.
