Nursing home and long‑term care groups warn governor’s cuts would deepen closures, staffing crisis

Representatives of nursing homes, long-term care advocacy groups and hospitals told the House Health and Human Services Finance Policy Committee that the governor’s budget would leave long-term care providers with large shortfalls, undermining workforce, access and rural capacity.

"Since 2020, more than 3,100 nursing home beds have been taken out of service statewide," Kyle Burnt of the Long Term Care Imperative told the committee. He said the governor’s budget would cap future rate increases at 2%, eliminate certain planned rate agreements and create an estimated four‑year cut of roughly $218 million to nursing home funding; Burnt said the cumulative impact on nursing homes could be substantially larger when federal matching and private-pay effects are considered.

Erin Hubert, also with Long Term Care Imperative, warned that elderly waiver programs lack any inflation factor under the budget, and that the administration’s proposed 2% cap on certain waiver adjustments would limit providers’ ability to keep pace with rising costs. "We do not see that vision in this budget proposal," she said, adding that rural bed-loss already presents an access crisis.

Danny Eckert of the Minnesota Hospital Association told the committee the group opposed a pharmacy carve-out proposal (discussed separately by insurers and hospitals) and supported extending audio-only telehealth for patients who lack broadband or video access. Hospitals also cited rising patient acuity and constrained capacity across the continuum of care as compounding the challenges nursing homes face.

Witnesses asked the legislature to reject cuts to long‑term care rates, to fully fund workforce standards adopted by the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board, and to recognize the lag in reimbursement forecasting that can mask true provider needs. No committee votes were taken during the hearing.