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The 2026 legislative session brought significant changes for assisted living providers. Are you prepared?

Assisted living professionals won’t want to miss one of LeadingAge Minnesota’s most popular events of the year! Registration has just opened for the 2026 Assisted Living Conference, taking place August 12–13 at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center.

OnTrack helps providers stay ahead of changing healthcare standards by delivering CNA and TMA training that is current, relevant, and responsive to workforce needs.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on May 21, 2026 issued a new requirement for certain federally assisted housing providers to reverify the immigration status of certain tenants within 30 days.

The June 4 edition of Advantage included a detailed article titled What Providers Need to Know About Minnesota’s New Happy Hour Process. The new Minnesota law loosens some of the red tape for licensed assisted livings, nursing homes, and boarding care homes.

The annual selection for the Quality Improvement Incentive Payment Program (QIIP) for nursing homes is due by July 12. The selection for this year will be judged based on the period from July 1, 2026 through July 1, 2027 and will apply to rates effective January 1, 2027.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has issued new guidance for Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) providers affected by revalidation-related disenrollment.

Minnesota’s DHS revalidation process is creating real and immediate challenges for providers. After thousands of high-risk providers were disenrolled, some assisted living and nursing home providers are now being impacted as well. 

Accurate MDS practice is essential to quality care, regulatory compliance, and reimbursement success. LeadingAge Minnesota is offering two in-person MDS training opportunities designed to support both experienced professionals and those new to the MDS role.

The 13th Annual LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Golf Tournament on August 4 is officially sold out! Thank you to everyone who registered to help support the Foundation's scholarship program, which empowers aging services professionals to pursue education, build new skills, and advance their careers.

The 2026 LeadingAge Minnesota Leadership Academy officially launched in May with a two-day session focused on Authentic Leadership — setting the stage for a year of reflection, growth, and connection.

In a May 22 internal memo, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revealed that the agency is reassessing its guidance for reasonable accommodations requests for assistance animals.

CMS continues to test a risk-based survey process known as a “short survey” for select nursing homes that meet higher-quality indicators. The shorter survey approach is intended to focus survey resources while still protecting resident health and safety. The short survey still meets CMS requirements for the standard survey cycle.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) rent and income limits. These limits are now available on Minnesota Housing’s Multifamily Rent and Income Limits webpage. Minnesota Housing uses the HUD published limits to compute income and rent limits for Multifamily loan programs.

Minnesota’s much-discussed “Grandparents’ Happy Hour” provision is now live, and it gives assisted living communities, nursing homes, and boarding care homes a clearer path to host resident-focused activities or events where alcohol may be served without obtaining a separate liquor license.

Did you miss our 2026 Legislative webinar? Not to worry! This webinar is now available in our resource library and in our store.

LeadingAge Minnesota is excited to announce that we will be getting a brand-new website this Fall, and the redevelopment work is already underway.

DHS’s Minnesota Revalidate 2026 has moved from policy headline to a day-to-day operational issue — and, for many providers, into a period of unresolved uncertainty. The May 31 deadline has passed for providers in 13 high-risk Medicaid service categories, but the public outcome remains incomplete.

Coming this August is an in-depth webinar series designed for nursing home professionals responsible for quality reporting and performance.

As reported by LeadingAge National, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced policy changes that could significantly affect employment-based green card processing and create additional workforce uncertainty for aging services providers relying on international workers.

The FY 2027 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) Proposed Rule is more than just another annual reimbursement update. While the headlines focus on a 2.4% payment increase, the deeper message from CMS is much more significant: the agency is preparing for tighter oversight, faster accountability, expanded reporting expectations, and increased scrutiny of MDS coding patterns across the skilled nursing industry.

Strong quality leadership is essential in today’s aging services environment, where quality measures, payment programs, and consumer expectations continue to evolve.

Aging services rules, regulations and operational challenges are complex, but through membership with LeadingAge Minnesota, you don’t have to navigate them alone.

Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) are a key part of a long-term care facility’s emergency preparedness plan, helping ensure residents can be safely transferred or temporarily sheltered when a facility cannot maintain operations.

You have questions. Our experts have answers. Join us for the Meet the Experts: Summer Series, a free virtual series from LeadingAge Minnesota created to help aging services providers navigate complex rules, regulations, and day-to-day challenges.

Connect with our team, hear from experienced experts, and learn how we support providers across the field. Open to members and prospective members.

Upcoming sessions

• June 30: Kelly Conrad and Shelli Bakken - Register here
• July 28: Kari Everson and Mark Schulz - Register here
• August 25: Anna Mowry, Jeff Bostic, and Julie Apold - Register here

Time: 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Location: Virtual

Cost: FREE

Save the dates and register today!

Accurate MDS practice is critical to aligning resident care, quality outcomes, and financial performance. To support providers in strengthening this work, LeadingAge Minnesota is offering two in-person MDS training opportunities tailored to different experience levels.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in person on May 6 for a meaningful afternoon of networking, idea sharing and peer learning around the topic of AI in fundraising. We appreciated the opportunity to connect with professionals from across the aging services field and continue strengthening this valuable community.

On May 1^st, the U.S. Department of Education published a final rule implementing changes to federal student loan limits for graduate and professional degree programs. The rule finalizes, without modification, the Department’s definition of “professional degree,” despite significant concerns raised during the public comment period.

Join us for an afternoon of golf, networking, and impact at the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Golf Tournament at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury. Proceeds support caregiver and employee scholarships—last year, you helped raise nearly $60,000!

Yesterday (May 6) marked the launch of LeadingAge Minnesota’s new Emergency Preparedness Training Series for assisted living providers and nursing homes with the first webinar, Demystifying Preparedness: The Basics.