Human services policy bill handily passed by House, Senate

— UPDATED at 9:01 p.m. after Senate vote

The right to a designated support person for nursing home residents, prohibiting county boards from charging for emergency services provided to clients experiencing emotional crisis or mental illness, and expanding the Health Care Bill of Rights are all in the omnibus human services policy bill.

A conference committee report on HF2115 was passed 124-10 by the House on Monday. Later passed 55-8 by the Senate, the bill will now go to the governor’s desk.

“This bill will make our state better,” said Rep. Mohamud Noor (DFL-Mpls).

“The House provisions stood strong over the Senate provisions over all in this conference report,” said Rep. Joe Schomacker (R-Luverne), the bill sponsor. He co-chairs the House Human Services Finance and Policy Committee along with Noor. “We were able to keep a majority of what we had sent over into conference committee. The Senate was willing to acquiesce on a few of those points.”

Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) is the Senate sponsor.

“We have strengthened protections for those in assisted living and reduced burdens on mental health and substance use providers. This bipartisan legislation protects taxpayers and Minnesotans receiving services by strengthening anti-fraud provisions," Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls) said in a statement.

Other policy changes in the report include:

• penalizing illegal kickbacks in the Child Care Assistance Program, aligning enforcement with state theft laws, and prohibiting duplicative billing practices in Human Services Department programs;
• prohibiting an assisted living facility from requiring a resident or potential resident to sign a contract containing a provision for binding arbitration as a condition of admission to, or as a requirement for, continued care at a facility;
• expanding services parents are allowed to provide under consumer-directed community supports to include certain personal assistance services to a minor child while temporarily out of state;
• exempting intensive residential treatment services and residential crisis stabilization residents from certain rights in the Health Care Bill of Rights;
• require promotion of 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline;
• repealing Minnesota rules governing Medical Assistance payments for clinic services;
• excluding weekends and holidays from the mental health diagnostic assessment 10-day timeline;
• requiring training about a program’s drug and alcohol policy before a person has direct contact with persons served by the program;
• specifying that co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles do not apply to mobile crisis intervention; and
• adding financial management services, community first services and supports, unlicensed home and community-based organizations, and consumer-directed community supports organizations for purposes of limited set-asides.