Yesterday afternoon the Senate Health and Human Services and Housing Committee convened a hearing to provide a broad overview of waiver services, specifically Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS).
Representatives from DHS provided an overview of Minnesota’s vision for long-term care services, and trends on populations served and spending for both the disability and elderly waivers. They also answered questions on the disability waiver rate system, 245D and other issues that were brought forward through public testimony.
Members from the disability and elderly community provided testimony that outlined the waiver system and the impact of past funding decisions. ARRM members from Habilitative Services, Inc. (CEO Devin Nelson, self-advocate Eugen Kavan, and DSP Hayley Erickson) and Mains’l Services (Nike Boeve and her staff, Denise Jellis) spoke on behalf of the disability community. They provided compelling testimony on their daily experiences, and the difficulty of maintaining quality services in the face of flat or declining funding.
Nike Boeve shared, “without support I may have had to file for bankruptcy.” The testifiers spoke about how a 5% rate increase would make a difference in their lives and the lives of the people they serve. Eugen Kaven, and many others, emphasized the need to increase wages to reduce staff turnover. “High turnover hurts everyone. Getting comfortable with staff means getting comfortable in your own house," he said.
ARRM staff Barb Turner and Craig Wieber also testified to the committee and helped educate legislators on the issues we are facing with the rollout of the Disability Waiver Rate System (DWRS) and 245D.
Senator Kathy Sheran, chair of the committee, made it clear during and following the hearing that she is interested in these issues and will be giving them further discussion during the upcoming legislative session.
In addition to yesterday’s hearing, ARRM has been engaged with several legislative meetings regarding the DWRS. ARRM members Connie Menne (REM-Mentor), Mike Mills (Duluth Regional Care Center), John Kehr (Volunteers of America), and Devin Nelson and Brenda Meier (Habilitative Services Inc.) also attended these meetings to offer real world examples of how implementation issues are impacting their ability to provide services. We will continue to keep members updated as further meetings and hearings transpire leading up to and during the 2014 legislative session.
--Sara Grafstrom, Director of Advocacy and Community Relations