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The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is committed to supporting long-term care (LTC) professionals in MN who are working in infection prevention and control (IPC)related roles. In support of this effort, MDH contracted with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) to provide FREE national and state membership to qualified staff working in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities in Minnesota.

We have good news for nursing facility providers: Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) has resolved a billing issue that caused some nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) and ambulance claims to be denied.

On Thursday, April 30, from 12-1:30 p.m. the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Health Regulation Division is holding a quarterly webinar for assisted living licensees and interested stakeholders to educate on regulatory trends and provide updates.

Formerly known as Group Residential Housing (GRH), Housing Support is a state-funded program that helps cover basic living expenses, primarily rent and raw food, for eligible individuals. Each year, the state recalculates the rate using a standardized formula tied to federal and state benchmarks that estimate the minimum income necessary for a person to live safely and independently in the community.

We are excited to announce a new, coordinated Emergency Preparedness Training Series designed to support assisted living providers, while also welcoming and encouraging participation from nursing homes. This initiative represents a significant step forward in supporting your organization’s compliance with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Appendix Z requirements while strengthening real-world readiness.

The Central Minnesota Council on Aging has released a new funding opportunity through the Title III E National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP)—designed to strengthen services that support family and informal caregivers of older adults. 

LeadingAge Minnesota is launching a new, coordinated Emergency Preparedness Training Series to support assisted living providers, with nursing homes encouraged to participate.

In October, 2024, Eventide Senior Living Communities and Tabitha Senior Care, a Nebraska-based senior living organization, officially joined forces through a strategic affiliation agreement, marking a significant milestone in enhancing support for seniors across the Midwest. 

MDH recently notified nursing homes that submitted proposals in the current moratorium exceptions round of their approval status. All five proposals were approved, representing a total annual state cost of just under $1.1 million.

As a reminder, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) maintains several very useful and informative websites for nursing home providers. 

Late last week, CMS released the annual proposed PPS rule. That rule, which will be adopted in final form around Aug. 1, implements annual rate updates and other Medicare policy changes impacting SNFs. This year’s rule proposes a 2.4% increase in SNF rates effective Oct. 1, reflecting relatively low inflation. Wage index values also update on that date, meaning the actual rate increase will vary from the inflation increase. 

As the demands on aging services professionals continue to grow, access to timely, practical education is more important than ever. LeadingAge Minnesota is offering two valuable virtual learning opportunities this spring designed to support both frontline clinical teams and organizational leaders navigating policy changes.

LeadingAge Minnesota members Continuum Therapy Partners and St. Francis Health Services of Morris have announced a new partnership that will expand therapy services and strengthen care delivery across Minnesota.

Chris Knoll, a LeadingAge Minnesota member and CEO of Minnewaska Community Health Services, has secured the Republican endorsement for Minnesota Senate District 21. The endorsement was announced following the district convention, where party delegates selected Knoll as their preferred candidate to succeed retiring Senator Bill Weber. 

In a response to concerns about possible increases in eviction filings related to Operation Metro Surge, the St. Paul City Council recently approved a temporary 60-day pre-eviction filing notice ordinance on a unanimous 7-0 vote.

We’re hearing from providers across Minnesota about a shared challenge: strong, committed nursing assistant (CNAs) learners who struggle—not because they can’t do the work, but because training materials don’t fully support how they learn. That’s why OnTrack has expanded support for multilingual learners in CNA programs.

Falls with Major Injury (FMI) has long been one of the most closely watched quality measures in long-term care. It directly affects public reporting, survey scrutiny, and Five-Star Quality Ratings. However, a major shift is underway in how this measure is calculated.

Each year, The Long-Term Care Imperative conducts a Workforce and Financial Conditions survey to gauge key metrics for the aging services sector.

A new resource is now available to support the aging services workforce: the Multilingual Audio Glossary of Aging Services Language.

Developed with funding from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) GEAR division, this tool helps staff learn and understand key vocabulary used in aging services settings.

Members have asked practical questions about how to respond if immigration enforcement activity occurs near their communities. LeadingAge Minnesota has expanded its guidance with new FAQs and an updated resource page, bringing all tools together in one place.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) bases its median family income estimates on data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). In November, the Census Bureau announced a delay in its release of ACS data.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released updates to the State Operations Manual on January 30, 2026. The new changes are effective March 30, 2026. Updates were made to Chapter 5, which outlines complaint investigations and processes, and Chapter 7, which relates to the long-term care survey process.

Finding the right talent is critical — and LeadingAge Minnesota members have an exclusive opportunity to save while recruiting. Members can post open positions on AgingServicesJobs.org, the premier job board for aging services employers, at a significantly reduced rate.

The Duluth Tenants Union, an advocacy group representing renters in Duluth, have signaled their potential efforts to introduce a ballot initiative allowing for rent control caps in the city of Duluth. This same group successfully led a ballot initiative in 2025 for the Right to Repair ordinance, which is now in effect.  

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation has developed a new five-part video series designed to help member providers recruit and onboard talent from Minnesota’s immigrant and refugee communities.

To help more learners succeed in CNA training, OnTrack Nursing Assistant now offers translated learner materials in Spanish, Somali, and Hmong — designed to strengthen comprehension and confidence.

The Addressing “Med Not Available” Medication Errors Resource was developed by a work group of the LeadingAge Minnesota Quality Committee to support members in building systematic, effective processes to both prevent and respond to medications not being available to administer to residents.

Yesterday, CMS at the White House announced that they would be withholding $259 million in federal funds for Minnesota due to “unsupported or potentially fraudulent Medicaid claims.” The amount was based on a review of claims from the fourth quarter of 2025.

Recently, we announced that registration was open for our Operations Certificate Program. As we look ahead to our April 1 start date, we want to share more about what participants can expect and why this program comes at the right time for our members.

For years, skilled nursing facilities have told their quality story primarily through the MDS. If it wasn’t coded on the assessment, it often didn’t exist in the eyes of CMS quality measures. That framework is now changing—decisively.