This has turned out to be another difficult week for Minnesota so I'm going to start with some exciting news.

We budgeted $36,000 for non-dues revenue through our new partnerships. While Care Connection is starting slow, the Fueled Growth insurance option is off to a great start!! We have 3 signed contracts, with another one pending. We will receive our first check next week and Jeff is anticipating approximately $95,000 of revenue for 2026 (with just the current contracts). I'm so happy to be setting MHCA up for financial success in my last few months!

I think the May board meeting will be an excellent time to discuss how MHCA will utilize the additional revenue. Staff will do some brainstorming and bring ideas as a starting point.

And, for other news....

Day at the Capitol<https://www.mnhomecare.org/page/DayattheCapitol> is around the corner and I hope to see you all there! We are in discussions about doing this jointly with Home Care Nursing providers, as MHCA is supporting language around commercial insurances not establishing a cap on visits.

Feds Defer Funding: Yesterday's news about the federal government deferring Medicaid funding that is due to the state of Minnesota has left us with many questions. CMS had state that they would not withhold funds while an appeals process is underway. This is a new threat; Vice President Vance stated it is being done to ensure Minnesota takes fraud seriously. As such, we are unsure of the immediate impact this will have on services. The media has been reaching out to me and I have chosen to simply make general statements about MHCA's position on fraud and our desire for continuity of care. I received this update from DHS:

DHS received a deferral in the amount of $259.5M. In general, a deferral requires the state to pay funds back to CMS that were already drawn down for claims paid from the previous quarter. From there, we work with CMS on specific claims in question. At the end, there typically is a final disallowance amount determination, and the state receives back the difference. This deferral amount and scope of services and claims is drastically larger than ever experienced. This deferral is different from the $515M withhold threat we received in January. Whereas the deferral takes back funds for claims already paid out, a withhold would be for funds not yet spent. We are still assessing the short term and potential long-term impacts of the deferral, but; it is safe to say that this is part of a broad and sustained attack by the federal government on Medicaid in Minnesota.

Continuity of Care: I have received more examples of clients being uncared for as the lead agencies are not re-assigning them when there is a gap in care   I have communicated this to legislators who are leading the effort on continuity of care.

Legislative Session/MHCA Bill: Tensions are high at the legislature also. There has been significant focus on program integrity. In the midst of huge issues facing legislators, we will have hearings for our "simple" policy Home Care and Assisted Living Advisory Council bill (timing of filling positions and grant money clarification) next week: Monday in the Senate and Tuesday in the House. We hope that it doesn't get lost among the 'big stuff.'

UCare: I do have some hopeful news on the UCare rehabilitation. It appears that there will be enough money to fully pay for the services you provided. The question is how soon you will receive it. The State of MN owes UCare significant dollars and are scheduled to make payments in July and August. MDH informed me that repayments will be handled in the order of claims made and is uncertain how quickly that will happen. It could be later in 2026 or go into 2027.

Kind Regards,

Kathy Messerli
Executive Director
Minnesota Home Care Association

2909 S. Wayzata Blvd. | Minneapolis, MN 55405
Direct: 651.635.0038 | Main: 651.635.0607
www.mnhomecare.org<http://www.mnhomecare.org/page/A17> | kmesserli@mnhomecare.org<mailto:kmesserli@mnhomecare.org>
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