As Session Winds Down, Time to Act is Now

The end of the session is drawing near, and the funding allocated in the House and Senate human services budgets isn’t adequate to ensure access to care for seniors in all the places they call home.

To keep the spotlight on seniors and their caregivers, LeadingAge Minnesota CEO Kari Thurlow shared the troubling findings on the state of senior care in Minnesota as she testified before the Human Services Finance Conference Committee. She also shared finding on tv and radio.

As we bring the last three weeks of session to a close, we need to keep pressure on decision-makers who can increase the human services funding so that senior care settings get the support they need to recruit and retain caregivers and serve Minnesota seniors in all the places they call home.

It’s easy to share your story and engage in the advocacy we need to impact the legislative process.

Call Gov. Walz

On Monday, May 8, we will flood Gov. Walz’s office with calls asking him to increase the budget allocated for human services. The talking points are simple:

My name is X, and I am at in . I urge you to do everything you can to increase the human services budget target to ensure access to care in all senior services settings.
We need the Governor to do three things:
- Increase the budget target for human services so we can support seniors and their caregivers.
- Support fully funding Elderly Waiver for assisted living, adult day, and care in the community.
- Support new, immediate funding for nursing homes.

CLICK HERE for instructions on how to call and to get more detailed talking points.

Email conferees

In the conference committee, representatives from the House and Senate, called “conferees,” will negotiate differences in legislation between the two bodies. These leaders will determine which funding is included in this session’s Human Services budget.

We are contacting this group to share essential data on the crisis we face in long-term care. Our goal for this conference committee is to get them to increase the human services budget so all care settings – including nursing homes, assisted living, adult day, and other home and community-based services – get the funding needed to ensure access to care for seniors when and where they need it.

Send the six conferees an email today highlighting critical data they need to make the right decision to increase funding for senior services settings.

Share with your community.

Once you take action, you can share with others to encourage them to do the same! Below you’ll find some sample text that will help you spread the word.

Sample text for social media:

Sample 1: Did you know 450 referrals are denied by MN senior care settings EVERY DAY? Each denial represents a senior’s attempt to access care in the community. It’s critical #mnleg fund #seniorcare this session.

Call Gov. Walz on May 8 and ask him to fund #ltc: https://bit.ly/3LqOVVA

Sample 2: Seniors are losing access to care because there aren’t enough caregivers. #mnleg MUST fund senior care this session so older adults can get the care they need when and where they need it.

Call Gov. Walz on May 8 and ask him to fund #ltc: https://bit.ly/3LqOVVA

Sample 3: Without adequate funding, #seniorcare settings can’t recruit and retain the caregivers needed to serve the growing population of seniors. It’s up to our state’s leaders to ensure access to care for seniors.

Call Gov. Walz on May 8 and ask him to fund #ltc: https://bit.ly/3LqOVVA

Sample text for an email or a newsletter:

A recent survey of Minnesota long-term care settings conducted by the Long-Term Care Imperative revealed that access to senior care continues to deteriorate across the state.

Seniors are being denied care at alarming rates in communities that were able to meet demand just a few years ago. Every day, 450 referrals are denied by nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Each denial represents a senior’s attempt to access care in the community they call home.

The ongoing lack of adequate state funding to support higher wages for caregivers has pushed nursing homes and assisted living settings deeper into financial distress. This impacts the ability to recruit and retain the workers needed to care for a growing population of seniors.

The state of Minnesota has a record budget surplus. It’s the state’s responsibility to set the rates for nursing homes and the seniors who receive services in assisted living and adult day through Elderly Waiver. The only solution is for Governor Walz and legislative leaders to adequately fund long-term care this session.

You can make an impact by contacting decision-makers like Gov. Walz just by following the links below:

Call Gov. Walz: https://bit.ly/3LqOVVA

Then contact conferees: https://bit.ly/41P0pJn