Adult Day: DWRS Bill Puts Access to Services At Risk; Take Action Today

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Jeff Bostic

The Minnesota House Health and Human Services Policy Committee last week heard bills to address issues around the Disability Waiver Rate System (DWRS). The action taken by the committee is not in keeping with the goals of DWRS providers and creates a clear need for advocacy by impacted providers, including our Adult Day Services members. 

An amendment heard last week would take three key actions, two of which are not supportive of the provider agenda. The one positive of the amendment is that it updates rates within DWRS every two years instead of every five.  However, it does not include a competitive workforce factor, which was approved (but ultimately vetoed) last year as a way to replace a 7% cut that occurred on July 1, 2018 due to action by CMS. That funding is very important to maintaining access to DWRS services for consumers, including participants in Adult Day programs around the state.

The amendment additionally includes language that requires providers to pay wages at certain levels in order to participate in the disability waiver programs.  Provider advocates argued that the language is poorly designed, likely impossible to enforce, and that the reimbursement rates do not necessarily allow all provider to pay the wage amounts being required.

The Governor’s budget proposal that came out yesterday does include funding for a competitive workforce factor of 4.7 percent, which while less than what we have sought is a considerable improvement over the recently approved bill from the House Health and Human Services Policy Committee.

We support the language in SF 6 and HF 179 that includes a competitive workforce factor to replace the 7 percent cut, as well as updating of the DWRS rates every year.

TAKE ACTION:
Adult Day members are strongly encouraged to take action now and tell their legislators to support the much needed fixes to DWRS.