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Senate committee advances bill requiring stakeholder oversight of DHS ‘waiver reimagined’ process after parents and advocates testify
Summary
Senate File 2215 would establish a legislative task force and require DHS collaboration and legislative review before submitting waiver reimagined plans; survivors, parents and advocacy groups testified that current DHS engagement is insufficient and the bill was recommended to pass after the committee adopted an author's amendment.
Senate File 2215, a bill to create a legislative task force and strengthen stakeholder oversight of the Department of Human Services’ waiver reimagined effort, moved forward from the Senate Human Services Committee on March 12 after extensive public testimony from parents, providers and advocates.
Senator Zachary Hoffman, author of the bill, told the committee the measure “strengthens the oversight [and] transparency in the waiver reimagine project, ensuring that those affected of the policy changes are actually have a seat at the table.” He said DHS would be prohibited from submitting the waiver plan to the federal government without the task force’s approval.
Multiple family members and advocates testified that DHS has not meaningfully collaborated with stakeholders and that the department’s proposed changes risk shifting people from home‑based services into more congregate or institutional settings. “If we proceed with waiver reimagine as proposed by DHS, Minnesota could lead a troubling new path to reinstitutionalize its citizens with disabilities,” said Tricia Bresbein, a member of the waiver reimagine advisory committee, who brought her son to the hearing.
Lisa Bala, a parent and waiver recipient, testified that proposed budget rules would base waiver budgets on where a person lives rather than on need and said the change could cut some home‑based budgets roughly in half. “If she does not get the budget she needs to stay in her own home, she will be forced to move into a community residential setting, a group home,” Bala said of her daughter.
Other witnesses — including Kathy Ware, Reverend Katrine Bachmeier, Debbie Harris, Marin Christiansen Hofer and Jean Bender — described instances where reduced budgets, inconsistent application of MNChoices assessments, or policy changes have threatened families’ ability to maintain home care. Witnesses called for budgets to be based on assessed need, for stronger protections to prevent institutional bias, and for the committee to authorize the task force the bill would create.
Senator Hoffman moved and the committee adopted an A1 author’s amendment by voice vote. After member discussion, the committee voted to recommend Senate File 2215 as amended to pass and re‑refer it to the State and Local Government Committee.
Advocates said the bill’s task force would provide enforcement power and legislative review to ensure DHS implements changes only after meaningful collaboration with people with disabilities, their families and providers. The committee recorded no roll‑call vote in the transcript; the chair announced the motion prevailed by voice.
The bill now moves to State and Local Government for further consideration.
