News

On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced her intention to protect employees, to the greatest extent possible, from intrusive or abusive electronic monitoring (described as "omnipresent surveillance") and automated management practices through vigorously enforcing current law and by urging the NLRB to apply settled labor-law principles in a new framework.

Thanks to feedback from several of you, a revised Emergency Relocation Notice template is now available. We have added new language required in all notices that go to residents that passed in the 2021-22 legislative session:

On Nov. 2, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) updated the personal protective equipment (PPE) grid to reflect the guidance updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) released a Request for Proposal (RFP) hire a consultant who will review the RUGS-IV case mix system used in the state's Value-Based Reimbursement (VBR) care center payment system under Medicaid.

Minnesota's nurse aides hired or who worked during the 1135 waiver now have until April 5, 2023, or the end of the public health emergency (PHE), whichever is sooner, to be placed on the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry.

As of Oct. 3, nurse aide candidates have a maximum of two hours to complete the knowledge test and have up to four chances to pass the knowledge test. We have answers to several frequently asked questions about the nurse aide test.

A section on Assisted Living Contracts was recently added to the FAQ section of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Assisted Living webpage. Included are responses to questions on liability waivers, renter's insurance, and arbitration provisions posed by providers.

The assisted living statutes (144G.52) define an emergency relocation and state that an assisted living facility "may remove a resident from the facility in an emergency if necessary due to a resident's urgent medical needs or an imminent risk the resident poses to the health or safety of another facility resident or facility staff member."

Pandemic frontline workers will begin to see $487.45 in one-time bonuses from the State of Minnesota this week. Applicants who chose direct deposit of their payment should see it in their accounts in seven to ten days. People who choose to be mailed a prepaid debit card should receive them in three to four weeks.

An announcement from MDH of a new assisted living license requirement has caused some confusion among providers who have just completed their first AL license renewal. The new provision applies to AL licenses renewed beginning August 1, 2022 and requires evidence showing that at least one resident was served during the previous licensing period to the renewal process.

DHS announced in August that they had opened the selection process for all care centers in the Medical Assistance program to select a new goal to work on for another round of the Quality Improvement Incentive Payment Program (QIIP). Each year, based on their progress toward the goal they select, care centers receive a rate increase of $0 to $3.50 per resident day for QIIP. 

The revalidation process has begun for providers enrolled with DHS as a Home and Community Based Service (HCBS) provider which includes waiver services for Adult Day Services, Assisted Living (Customized Living), as well as Home Health Agencies.

Beginning Oct. 3, Nurse Aide Registry candidates will have up to four chances to pass the knowledge exam until March 2023.

Nurse aides hired or who worked during the 1135 waiver have until Oct. 6 to be placed on the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has announced that nurse aide registry candidates will have up to two hours for the knowledge exam beginning Oct. 3.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has several openings for Minnesota Medicaid-Certified Nursing Facilities interested in participating in an online Dementia Care staff training program.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will extend the time limit for the nursing assistant state knowledge exam from one hour back to two hours in response to feedback from nurse aide training programs around the state.

According to the Department of Human Services, a net total of 13 adult day programs closed from 2021 to the midpoint of this year. The availability of adult day services as our state ages is increasingly essential to promote quality of life and health.

LeadingAge Minnesota members, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), are helping expand nursing assistant testing opportunities throughout Minnesota by piloting in-facility testing in their settings.

If your assisted living setting satisfies the 24-hour staffing rule by utilizing staff from another licensed setting, you must request a variance from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to remain in compliance with assisted living requirements.