Minnesota DHS is again asking providers to open their books, not for an audit, but to help determine whether the state’s rate methodologies reflect what services actually cost to deliver.

The provider cost and wage survey opened October 28 and will remain available through December 18, 2026. It covers adult day services, customized living and several other services funded through the Elderly Waiver, Alternative Care, Essential Community Supports, CADI and Brain Injury waivers.

For providers already managing thin margins, workforce shortages and rising operating costs, another survey may not inspire much enthusiasm. This one, however, deserves attention.

Help Shape Future Rate Decisions

DHS is evaluating the components and assumptions used to establish payment rates for a range of critical HCBS services. The survey asks providers to submit information about wages, benefits and the actual costs of operating these programs.

DHS is required to report the results of its evaluation to the Minnesota Legislature and make recommendations regarding possible changes to the rate methodologies. That does not guarantee that completing the survey will produce an immediate rate increase. It does mean the information providers submit will become part of the evidence policymakers use when deciding whether current rates are reasonable—and where they may need to change.

Rate methodologies are only as accurate as the information behind them. If the state receives responses primarily from providers with unusually low costs, limited benefits or a narrow service model, the results may understate what it takes to operate a stable, high-quality program.

In other words, providers that do not participate are still affected by the outcome. Their experience simply may not be reflected in it.

Adult day and Customized Living

The survey includes adult day services under Elderly Waiver, Alternative Care and Essential Community Supports. It also includes customized living under Elderly Waiver, CADI and the Brain Injury Waiver.

Other services included in the evaluation are chore services, home-delivered meals, homemaker services, adult companion services, respite, individual community living supports and community residential services.

Organizations providing more than one covered service will use a single survey. Guidehouse, DHS’s contractor for the project, has incorporated instructions into the online form and will post frequently asked questions on the project website.

Providers that completed the earlier survey in 2025 do not necessarily need to start over. They may email Guidehouse to request a copy of their previous submission and update the information, or they may complete a new online survey.

The Value of Good Data

This should not be treated as a form that simply gets forwarded to accounting. Finance may have the numbers, but operations and human resources often understand what those numbers mean.

For example, wage information may not tell the full story unless it is considered alongside overtime, open positions, contract staffing, turnover, training time and the cost of maintaining required coverage. Administrative expenses may also be spread across several departments or service lines and may not appear neatly under a single program.

Before completing the survey, providers should consider bringing together representatives from finance, payroll, human resources and program operations. The goal is not to make the organization’s costs look higher or lower. It is to provide a fair and defensible picture of what it actually takes to deliver the service.

Providers should also document any assumptions used to allocate shared expenses. If one organization operates assisted living, adult day and other services, expenses such as leadership, billing, human resources, technology, insurance and building costs may support more than one program. A consistent allocation method will make the submission more reliable.

Deadline Approaching

The survey closes December 18, which can be a difficult time to gather information as organizations manage year-end work, holidays and budget planning. Providers should identify a survey lead now, determine which records will be needed and allow time for more than one person to review the final submission.

This is one of those opportunities that can feel administrative in the moment but become important later. When providers argue that reimbursement has not kept pace with wages, benefits, food, transportation, insurance and other operating costs, policymakers need credible data to evaluate those claims.

Minnesota’s HCBS rate methodologies will be informed by the information available. Providers have an opportunity to help make sure that information reflects the realities they are facing.

Provider action: Complete the Minnesota DHS Aging and Adult Services Rate Study survey by December 18, 2026. Providers that participated in 2025 may request their prior submission by emailing MNDHSRateStudy@Guidehouse.com.