Review panel urges expansion of state hospital capacity, recommends 50‑bed start and two‑year extension of 48‑hour rule

Doctor Kylie Ann Stevens, executive medical director at the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Direct Care and Treatment (DCT), presented the Priority Admissions Review Panel’s report to the Senate Human Services Committee on Feb. 24, outlining unanimous recommendations to address long wait times for state hospital admissions and a growing concentration of high‑acuity patients in DCT facilities.

The panel, convened after 2023 statutory changes to priority admissions, recommended six actions including immediate investment to expand capacity at DCT, funding a new 50‑bed facility on the Anoka Metropolitan Regional Treatment Center (AMRTC) campus as a starting point, increased Medicaid and community rates, more mobile crisis teams and long‑acting injectable medication funding for jails, a public referral dashboard to increase transparency, and a two‑year extension of the current “medically appropriate bed” language in statute. “Minnesota is the only state with the 48 hour requirement for admission,” Stevens told the committee, citing a review of laws in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Stevens presented historical context: the priority‑admissions statute dates back to the early 2010s in response to rising wait lists and an initial 48‑hour standard. DHS’s…