Dear Friends,
Committee work and a nursing home rally designed to bring attention to the nursing home crisis in our state dominated the headlines this week at the Capitol.
COMMITTEE PROCESS IS WRAPPING UP
Our second committee hearing deadline has arrived and committees have been working long and hard this week on wrapping up the majority party’s omnibus bills. These bills contain comprehensive funding and policy proposals for each area within state government. Each committee’s omnibus bill will be sent to the Ways and Means Committee and then moved to the House floor for a vote. This means that, after the Easter holiday, committees in the house will tail off and we will move to spending many hours of floor time debating these big bills.
As you likely know from my past comments, my opinion on these omnibus bills is not positive. The omnibus bill process is sloppy legislating and not transparent in any way. In most cases these huge bills are used to get controversial proposals signed into law that would never get approval as stand-alone bills. I do not look forward to having to weigh the good and the bad in each of these bills. Legislators either have to vote against a bunch of good proposals, or vote for a bunch of bad proposals. It is not a good position to be in.
DECLARING A NURSING HOME URGENCY
Nursing homes throughout our state have lost thousands of available beds because of a huge funding deficit and staffing shortage. Many of these care centers have completely closed or are on the verge of closing. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
State funding for nursing homes is based on a two-year delay. The payments nursing homes are currently receiving are based on their reimbursement costs from two years ago. You can imagine, with the massive inflation over the last few years that has driven up the costs for everything from food to incontinence products that the funding deficit hole for nursing homes continues to get deeper and deeper. Then add on top of that the current massive workforce shortage.
These care centers are forced to take out loans. They are now at the point where they cannot get any more credit. Many are closing or on the verge of closing. All have had to reduce the number of available beds. Just in the month of November, 11,000 Minnesotans who needed nursing home care were turned down.
Nursing homes are not able to pay their staff the going rate to compete even with employers like McDonald’s. Our nursing homes are going into a tailspin. They need significant resources immediately to stay afloat, as well as significant funding reform.
I have been vocal about this issue from the beginning. After speaking with many local and statewide nursing home staff and directors, I find the problem crystal clear: this is an emergency.
The legislature should have addressed this nursing home crisis right away the first month of session. House Republicans have attempted to declare an urgency and bring this up for a vote on the House floor a number of times since session began. We did so again Thursday. Each time, the majority votes us down and tells us that this will be addressed in the upcoming omnibus bills.
Well, as I mentioned above, omnibus bill time is here. How much funding will nursing homes receive in the House majority’s HHS omnibus bill to address this emergency? $3.9 million for the biennium. This is woefully inadequate and will not fix this crisis.
I am beyond frustrated. I am fuming! The House Majority has made it abundantly clear through their joint budget targets that they plan on spending almost the entirety of the over $17 billion state surplus. And yet they are unable to address this nursing home crisis? Where are our elders supposed to go when they need this specialized care? Is there no room in this budget for these folks?
Priorities matter, and our nursing homes should be a priority.
Here are just a few examples of the priorities I see in these upcoming DFL budget bills:
- $194 million for a high-speed train to Duluth
- $2 million for poetry, art, and dance classes for felons
- $40 million for tax credits for Hollywood producers
- $28 million for the Minnesota Zoo
- $3.8 million for the Board of Cosmetology
- $4 million for the Lawn to Legumes program (grants for homeowners to turn their lawns into pollinator habitats.)
- $17 million to add additional employees to the Department of Human Rights
Now I love our zoo animals, but should these animals get more funding than our elders in nursing homes? How about Hollywood producers? They get $40 million but our nursing homes don’t even get $4 million? And dance lessons for felons? Come on! This is absolutely outrageous!
I will continue to fight for the resources and funding reform needed to address this nursing home crisis. This is an urgency and it deserves our focus!
LOCAL VISITORS
It was Ag Cooperative Network Day on the Hill Wednesday. It was great to see local Alden farmer, Dave Huper, as part of the group that visited me. Thanks for taking the time to come to the Capitol and for sharing about important legislative issues that affect farmers and ag cooperatives!
Thursday was Veteran’s Day on the Hill. Hundreds of veterans came to the Capitol to advocate for those who have served our country, including some busloads of local veterans. I was not able to spend a long time at the rally because we were debating bills on the House floor at the same time. However, I did happen to run into these local people when I was there. Pictured here is legion auxiliary member, Kathryn Buker Fredrickson.
I also found veterans Sid Troutner and Lynn Berven.
It was great to see them there! Thank you to all who came in support of our veterans and, most of all, thank you to our veterans who have served our country selflessly for our freedoms!
Have a good weekend,
Peggy