NEWS RELEASE
Decision by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hurts direct care workforce
ARRM, an association representing more than 200 direct care providers and supporting service providers for people with disabilities in Minnesota, released this statement from CEO Sue Schettle regarding the 2018 February Budget and Economic Forecast released by the Minnesota Office of Management and Budget:
“The positive state budget forecast is an important opportunity to focus on significant health and human services needs for Minnesota. Particularly, taking additional action to address the pressing workforce shortage impacting the entire sector and invest in continued progress for people with disabilities to achieve independence and community integration.
“Prioritizing this has been made even more important with breaking news yesterday from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) denied an amendment to the home and community-based services rate setting system for people with disabilities. This will result in a seven percent cut to the rates people with disabilities receive to access supportive services, resulting in a loss of up to thousands of dollars per person each year going towards critical supports.
“The state will need to address this cut by the federal government to honor investments in supportive services designed to improve quality and support more competitive wages for direct care staff. Not only do people with disabilities access these services to remain independent and active members of their communities, many rely on them for essential health and safety support.
"According to the Office of Management and Budget, average wages for all positions are expected to rise 5.5 percent next year and there is less than one job seeker per open position in our state. To experience a rate cut in such an economic environment could prove devastating for providers’ and individuals’ ability to hire and retain direct care staff.
“We call on the State Legislature to aggressively push back on this decision by CMS and take actions that will protect people’s ability to access critical supportive services on which they rely. Our industry supports the Best Life Alliance, which will be making recommendations to legislative leaders.”
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