ND health officials ask lawmakers for targeted raises, HCBS growth funding amid DOJ settlement work

North Dakota health officials on Oct. 12 told the legislative Appropriations Committee the state must fund growth in home- and community-based services (HCBS) and raise some provider rates to meet a Department of Justice settlement and the rising needs of older adults and people with disabilities.

Sarah Eaker, executive director of the Division of Medical Services, and Nancy Nicholas Meyer, director of Adult and Aging Services, said the department is in year five of an eight-year settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice that requires the state to divert people from nursing homes, transition residents back to the community, and secure housing for recipients. "We meet with them twice a month, and we provide semi-annual and annual reports," Nancy Nicholas Meyer said.

The department asked legislators to include a cost-to-continue for HCBS growth that had been omitted from an earlier submission, and to approve targeted rate increases. Nancy Nicholas Meyer described a $5.3 million request for a targeted rate increase aimed at qualified service providers (QSPs) and certain HCBS services; Sarah Eaker described a separate $2.4 million request to rebase home-health rates and align private-duty nursing with home-health reimbursement. The house budget left the HCBS targeted package in its version of the bill, department staff said.

Why it matters: The department said North Dakota is serving more people with complex medical and behavioral-health needs in the community.…