Home and Community Options, Inc. and agencies throughout MN providing services to individuals with disabilities took a step in the right direction this legislative session.

Minnesota Legislators ended a busy legislative session, and now it is time for Home and Community-Based providers to roll up their sleeves and start implementing changes that occurred during this session. It is often asked, “Was this a good legislative session?” It can be a challenging question to answer. Some pieces of legislation may be helpful to providers and those we serve, while others may cause challenges. In addition, it often takes months or even years to interpret how new legislation will impact services in the long term.

Below is a summary of some of the top issues impacting HCO. In the coming weeks, we will continue to review how this new legislation will impact our agency as more information is received, and we will begin implementing necessary changes agency-wide.

Note: Some changes will happen as soon as July 1st of this year, while others won’t be implemented until 2026.

Service Changes

Market Respite – Effective January 1, 2024
For MANY years, providers have sought ways to support families better and asked our Legislators to revamp the Respite Program. HCO is excited that, beginning January 1, 2024, Unit-Based Respite will be removed from the Disability Waiver Rate System (DWRS), and providers will be able to offer Unit-Based Respite as a market rate service. This change will once again allow HCO to provide respite services after school and for shorter shifts at the Saehler Drive Resource Home or in family homes.

Alternative Overnight Supervision – AOST (previously referred to as Remote Monitoring) – Effective January 1, 2024
For the past 14 years, HCO has been required to carry two licenses for residential homes that use technology to support individuals at night (a 245D License and a separate license for overnight technology). Little has changed with licensing policies since its initiation; however, our world and how it uses technology has changed drastically during the past decade. Legislative changes for AOST this year include:

  • Removing the need for the two separate licenses and adding new conditions under 245D (DHS will identify the new requirements)
  • Eliminating the need for a special variance

Changes in the Disability Waiver Rate System
The use of outdated data, slow implementation periods, and stagnant reimbursements have created a Rate System in Minnesota that has left many providers with no choice but to terminate services and close their doors. The 2023 Legislative Session is the first session in many years that recognized the issues above and took the beginning steps to correct these significant problems. By the end of 2024, it is estimated that providers will see a fully funded 6.2% rate adjustment (rates change throughout the year during the month each individual has their annual service planning meeting). Many providers like HCO will use these funds to offset the expenses that they are currently incurring to recruit and retain an adequate workforce.

New Direct Care Staff Compensation Threshold and Analysis Required
Through data collected during Cost Reporting, providers must show that they are dispersing the mandatory revenue thresholds to Direct Support Professionals (DSP’s). The threshold categories include wages, wellness programs, paid vacation/sick time, taxes, insurance, worker’s compensation, retirement, and other monetary stipends.

66% of Residential Service and 60% of Unit Based Service revenue generated must be spent on the threshold categories. HCO already pays DSPs well beyond the State’s reimbursement rate and will not have difficulty meeting the required thresholds.

State Grants
HCO is closely watching several new state grants that will be published in 2024. We look forward to applying for grants that will assist with recruiting/retaining our workforce and providing additional resources for those we serve.

K-12 Omnibus Education Bill
Students from our area high schools often find employment with HCO an excellent match for their interests and personal goals in the healthcare field. The K-12 bill will allow students in their junior and senior years to earn up to two elective credits each year toward graduation when working for HCO.


Employee/Employer Changes
(Note: Limited information is available about implementation requirements.)

Background Studies
Several changes will occur during the next year with how providers manage background studies under the NETStudy 2.0 system. Changes include methods of validating identification, updating employee contact information, new applicant portal access, increased background study fees, and the ability for the commissioner to increase fees to providers as necessary.

Statewide Paid Sick and Safe Leave
The Minnesota Legislature passed a bill, which will go into effect starting January 1, 2024, creating a statewide paid sick and safe leave entitlement for employees which applies to all employers. Under the new law, eligible employees will be entitled to accrue a minimum of one hour of earned sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked. An employee’s sick and safe time will begin to accrue on the day they start working and will continue to accrue until the maximum of 48 hours per year is reached. The time accrued may not exceed 48 hours unless the employer agrees to a higher amount. The new law also requires unused sick and safe time to carry over into the following year as long as the total amount of accrued sick and safe time does not exceed 80 hours. Earned sick and safe time may be used for a variety of reasons, including mental or physical illness, care of a family member (for reasons listed under the new law), domestic abuse, and closure of the employee’s place of business due to weather or public emergency, to name a few.

An employee seeking to use their earned sick and safe time for more than three consecutive days may be required by the employer to submit reasonable documentation to the employer to support the absences.

Nursing Mothers, Lactating Employees, and Pregnancy Accommodations
The Minnesota Legislature has passed amendments to Minnesota’s nursing mothers and pregnancy accommodations statute, effective July 1, 2023, to broaden employee protections.

Recreational Marijuana and Employment Law Implications
Minnesotans will soon be allowed to possess and use marijuana recreationally. Minnesota law prohibits employers from refusing to hire a job applicant or disciplining or discharging an employee for using a “lawful consumable product” away from the employer’s premises during nonworking hours. This new law clarifies that various forms of cannabis (as defined by the new law) will be considered a “lawful consumable product” for which employees cannot be discriminated against for legally using while off duty. HCO will be adjusting our current drug-free workplace policies to meet compliance with the new law.

Crown Act
Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature passed the CROWN Act, which amends the Minnesota Human Rights Act’s definition of race to include “traits associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locs and twists.” As a result, the law confirms employee protection against discrimination based on race-based natural hair texture and styles under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. HCO will ensure that their policies, practices, and training cover and address this form of discrimination.

Paid Family and Medical Leave
The Legislature passed a bill to establish a state-administered paid family and medical leave program to provide eligible employees with paid leave for specific family and medical reasons. The program will be funded through payroll taxes contributed by both employees and employers. The contributions will begin on January 1, 2026, and eligible employees will be able to receive benefits starting on that date as well.

Eligible employees could take up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave for their own serious health condition or pregnancy leave. Employees can also take up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave for parental, safety, caregiving, and deployment-related leave. Employees will be capped at a total of 20 weeks for all types of leave in any given year. Workers will receive paid leave based on a formula depending on their wages. The law also includes anti-discrimination and retaliation provisions, meaning employers cannot interfere with an employee’s rights or retaliate against an employee for exercising any rights under the law.

HCO will spend the next few months preparing the required policy updates, providing the training needed, and implementing the 2023 Legislation.

We are grateful for the self-advocates and HCO stakeholders who have worked endlessly to help move critical legislation forward. We know that all of our work was not completed this session, and HCO has already started to plan for the 2024 Legislative Session. If you are interested in being part of the HCO’s Grassroots Taskforce, please feel free to reach out (SuzanneH@hco.org).

 

The information provided above is based on current guidance and what we know as of now.
Future analysis and interpretation may be altered or changed with new understanding based on additional guidance provided at a later date.