Counties warn HR1 and federal changes will shift significant costs to local government; urge system modernization and legislative fixes
Summary
Carver and Scott County Health & Human Services directors warned that recent federal changes (HR1) and SNAP/Medicaid rule shifts could impose large county costs; staff recommended immediate bridging fixes, long-term system modernization, and unified legislative messaging to limit county exposure.
Carver and Scott County Health & Human Services directors told joint county leaders that several federal and state policy changes will significantly increase county workload and costs unless state or federal funding offsets are provided.
"We are really in a crisis in Health and Human Services," Heather Goodwin, Carver County Health & Human Services director, said during the presentation. County staff highlighted three priorities: immediate bridging relief to protect existing service levels, short-term statutory fixes to limit county fiscal exposure, and system modernization to reduce manual workloads.
Staff discussed SNAP administrative funding shifts, payment-error-rate mechanics and a projected exposure the counties cited using statewide figures. HHS staff said SNAP administration historically is funded 50% federal and 50% county in Minnesota; upcoming changes reduce federal reimbursement for certain components and could leave counties paying a larger share. Staff cautioned about treating payment-error rates as equivalent to fraud and asked for legislative language that caps county exposure.
On Medicaid, staff said new redetermination and eligibility rules will create extra work, particularly on adults without children and certain re-review requirements. HHS directors urged state help to handle the new workload; staff noted Ramsey and Hennepin reported multimillion-dollar startup costs when they went early on implementation.
System modernization was a repeated theme: staff demonstrated how outdated state systems force manual workarounds, add FTE costs, and increase payment-error exposure. Suggested fixes ranged from pragmatic shortcuts and graphical overlays to long-term AI-assisted eligibility tooling and a shared data depot.
Commissioners asked for unified messaging and graphics for use with legislative delegations, urged joint advocacy, and asked staff to prioritize which legislative items and technical fixes they should press first.
What happens next: staff will coordinate messaging with AMC and bring one-page talking points; counties asked staff to return with concrete requests for immediate bridging relief and timelines for system upgrades.
