News

As the state continues to battle both substantiated and alleged claims of Medicaid fraud, DHS has announced a freeze on new provider enrollments in 13 categories of Medicaid-funded services as part of efforts to strengthen program integrity and address Medicaid fraud.

Due to IT issues at DHS, the annual nursing home cost report cost report for the report year ending September 30, 2025, is not yet available on the Nursing Facility Provider Portal. Given that the due date of February 1 is coming up, DHS is implementing an alternative process for collecting the data this year.

Late last week, federal officials indicated that they may withhold up to $515 million in quarterly matching funds for Minnesota’s Medicaid program amid fraud investigations.

Late last year, health insurer UCARE announced that due to mounting financial losses they would be shutting down operations.  They are now officially in court ordered “rehabilitation” which has put MDH in charge of all UCARE operations.

The 2024 Minnesota Legislature directed DHS to implement Minn. Stat. §256S.191, which allows people age 65 and older to access to budget exceptions when they discharge from a hospital with high care needs.

DHS this week provided updates regarding claims processing related to their November announcement of the State contracting with Optum, a third-party vendor, to conduct prepayment reviews of the 14 high-risk Medicaid services named in the executive order issued by Governor Walz.

Yesterday, Jan. 14, the U.S. State Department announced a pause on immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, a change that may affect some employment-based green card cases used by long-term care providers to recruit international health care professionals. The pause is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 21.

CMS has recently moved nursing home survey and certification data into its new cloud-based system, iQIES (Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System). While this modernization is intended to improve data quality and reliability, the transition has resulted in data discrepancies that may be visible on Nursing Home Care Compare.

The National Association of Long-Term Care Boards (NAB) has launched the 2025-26 Professional Practice Analysis (PPA) survey. A PPA, sometimes referred to as a Job Analysis, is the practice of gathering and analyzing details about a particular job, such as responsibilities, day-to-day duties, qualifications, etc.

Is this your year to secure new grant funding? We’ve just updated our members-only Grant Grid with five new funding opportunities and now is a great time to take a look.

Join us for an unforgettable evening celebrating the people who make aging services extraordinary.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation is excited to announce our Tenth Annual Silent Auction which will take place as part of the 2026 Institute. All proceeds from the Silent Auction go to the Gayle Kvenvold Commitment to Caregivers Fund to benefit dedicated caregivers throughout Minnesota.

Mankato, MN — January 15, 2026 — Schwickert’s Tecta America, a trusted leader in the roofing & mechanical services industries, proudly celebrates its 120th anniversary this year. This marks more than a century of commitment to the customer, delivering quality work, and impacting local communities.

Vista Prairie Communities is pleased to announce the promotion of Lacie Lampman to Executive Director of Vista Prairie at Ridgeway.

LeadingAge Minnesota is collecting artwork created by older adults for display during our third annual art exhibit the week of Day at the Capitol. This is an opportunity to highlight creativity, talent, and lived experience from communities across the state for legislators and policy leaders.