Minnesota House unanimously approves $318 million in additional nursing home, hospital funding

St. Paul, MN - Today, as part of a bipartisan agreement achieved by DFL legislative leaders, the Minnesota House passed House File 3342, which delivers an additional $300 million to nursing homes over the next four years, along with $18 million in hospital payments. The bill, authored by State Representative Mohamud Noor (DFL - Minneapolis), Chair of the House Human Services Finance Committee, passed on a bipartisan vote of 132-0.

“Building upon the investments in our Human Services budget, the bipartisan deal we reached will deliver even more resources to Minnesota’s nursing homes,” said Rep. Noor. “These facilities were hit hard the last few years, which is why we’re allocating a record amount of funding to ensure the workers and residents at our nursing homes have the resources they need to thrive.”

The bill includes payments to nursing facilities, as well as a workforce incentive grant program. For hospitals, the bill includes funding for partial reimbursement for qualifying avoidable patient days.

Under this bill, the Department of Human Services (DHS) will provide a one-time payment to nursing facilities of $225,000. The remainder of the appropriation will be determined by a formula based on the number of active nursing facility beds in Minnesota as of May 12, 2023. DHS will also establish grants for nursing facilities to assist with recruiting and retaining eligible workers. Beginning July 1, DHS will make payments to hospitals of up to $1,400 per submitted qualifying patient day. 

The bill now goes to the Senate. Video of today’s House Floor debate can be found on the House Public Information YouTube channel. 

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