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In assisted living settings, unlicensed staff are often the first to respond to resident situations. LeadingAge Minnesota developed member supports to assist in clarifying practical expectations for incident response, reinforcing the use of the airway, breathing, circulation (ABCs), and providing education and tools that help organizations make decisions about when, and whether, to move a resident after a fall.

OnTrack Medication Aide (TMA) Training launches January 1, 2026. Newly approved by the Minnesota Department of Health, this hybrid medication aide training program was developed in response to member requests for accessible, online training and expands career advancement opportunities for caregivers across the state.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services announced on Tuesday that they will implement a licensing pause for adult day settings starting Feb. 1, 2026.

As we reported previously, DHS has informed LeadingAge MN that, due to some internal IT challenges, they will not publish Jan. 1, 2026 nursing home Medicaid rate notices during the month of December. Nursing homes need to provide a notice to their private pay residents before the rate increase is effective on Jan. 1, even if the amount of increase is not known.

Mark your calendar now and join us for these webinars happening in January:

In November, voters in Duluth, Minnesota approved a Right to Repair ballot initiative, granting tenants a right to repair certain defects in residential rental units when applicable requirements are met.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has indefinitely suspended the Skilled Nursing Facility Off-Cycle Revalidation required by January 1, 2026. It is important to note that only the January 1 (“off-cycle”) compliance date has been suspended.

Today, Minnesota officials released its fall economic forecast, which will inform state lawmakers’ priorities in 2026. 

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation is excited to offer up to 143 PockeTalk translation devices—at no cost—to member providers. These devices support New Americans with limited English proficiency who are working in long-term care roles by improving language access in real time.

Members who provide HUD subsidized housing may have received a letter dated November 25, 2025 from HUD Secretary E. Scott Turner addressing the current administration’s guidance related to criminal background screenings for prospective tenants.

The MN Department of Revenue has recently reorganized their website content and added more training resources to help customers navigate the CRP system.

Federal enforcement activities in Minnesota have intensified following national directives expanding expedited removal and activating multi-agency Homeland Security task forces.

An interim final rule repealing the nursing home minimum staffing standards was released to the Federal Register on December 2. It is important to note that the interim final rule does not repeal the entire rule that was finalized in April 2024.

Congratulations to Perham Health/Elevate for winning the 2025 Minnesota Rural Health Team Award. This award, presented by the Minnesota Department of Health, recognizes dedicated health care organizations that have made significant contributions to the health and wellbeing of their rural communities. It's presented just in time for honoring Rural Health Day, which is today, Thursday, November 20. 

LeadingAge Minnesota hosted two consecutive webinars on Tuesday, Oct. 14, to help providers prepare for the Jan. 1, 2026 implementation of Minnesota’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave and Meal and Rest Break laws.

Effective November 2025, MDH is using a new Physical Environment Inspection Report to document physical environment deficiencies identified during:

Due to mounting financial losses, health insurer UCARE announced earlier this week that it is shutting down all operations and will be transferring clients to another non-profit Minnesota health insurer, Medica.

Skilled nursing facilities can now access updated SNF Provider Preview Reports reflecting quality measure data that will be publicly reported in January 2026. Providers have until December 17, 2025, to review their data and request CMS corrections if needed.

Lawmakers continue to wrestle with the rollout and confusion of the Walz Administration’s order to pause Medicaid payments for 14 services (now technically 13 due to one of the services being discontinued entirely), pending an audit by Optum.

Following recent member discussions and questions about the upcoming Minnesota Paid Leave (MPL) law, we wanted to provide clarity about its relationship with the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board (NHWSB) established minimum wages and how those NHWSB minimum wages may not necessarily be the minimum wages required to be paid for MPL compliance.

The implementation of the 2025 legislative changes and the need for approval by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed the publication of the January 1, 2026, nursing facility rate notices by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS is waiting to see what CMS does and does not approve. 

The 2025 legislative session brought significant changes to contracts, notifications, and terminations for assisted living providers.

Stratis Health has been selected by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to create an educational toolkit to support compliance with state regulations for new and current home care and assisted living providers.

At the 2025 LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Boston, LeadingAge Minnesota was honored to share the stage with distinguished partners from Kenya and Minnesota to spotlight an emerging model of international collaboration in the aging services workforce.

Voters in Duluth and St. Paul pass ballot referendums on Tuesday intended to provide added protections to renters. Member organizations who operate apartments or assisted living facilities should be aware of these changes and how they may affect their operations.

Following recent LeadingAge Minnesota member webinars on the upcoming Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave (MPL) law, we received dozens of thoughtful and practical questions from providers.

On Oct. 28, the Walz Administration announced it would be using a new process for Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to review claims for certain Medicaid benefits and services before they are paid.

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act has been reintroduced – A federal bill that proposes to recapture up to 40,000 previously authorized but unused immigrant visas—25,000 for nurses and 15,000 for physicians.

LeadingAge Minnesota business partner CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) recently released their 40^th Annual SNF Cost Comparison and Industry Trends Report. This year's report is centered on the importance of understanding the reimbursement landscape, how quality drives performance, and enhancing business operations and acumen.

Providers enrolled with Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) are provided a MN-ITS Mailbox that is used by DHS to provide important information. MN–ITS will soon be moving to LoginMN. Enrolled providers will receive a pop-up message in MN–ITS to enter and confirm your work email and phone number.