Bill looks to change administrative flow of home care fine dollars

Money from fines paid by home care providers could be funneled through a new competitive grant program.

HF3526, as amended, sponsored by Rep. Joe Schomacker (R-Luverne), would update the flow of fine dollars to align with a 2025 law. It also would require that vacancies on the Home Care and Assisted Living Advisory Council be filled within 60 days of receiving applications.

The bill was laid over by the House Human Services Finance and Policy Committee Tuesday.

Rep. Joe Schomacker

Fines paid by home care providers are now deposited into a special revenue account and appropriated to the Department of Health to implement recommendations made by the council.The bill proposes that the department would instead, by Dec. 31, 2028, put this money toward a competitive grant program for special projects meant to improve quality of care for home care clients.

Access to home health services is most often a constituent’s preferred choice over hospitals or long-term care settings, said Schomacker, a committee co-chair. This bill offers “two small steps” the state can take to strengthen home care services in Minnesota that keep state costs down, he said. “Access to home health services is a key step in easing the stress in our currently overstressed hospitals and other congregate care facilities.”

The Minnesota Home Care Association proposed the bill to Schomacker in hopes it would give greater clarity to all stakeholders involved in the grant award process, said Kathy Messerli, the association’s executive director.

Currently there’s a special revenue account both assisted living and home care dollars go into, said Daphne Ponds, executive operations manager at the Health Department. The proposal mirrors an existing assisted living competitive grant program based on the same 2025 law.