St. Paul, Minn. – Today, the House passed the Human Services bill, HF 729 (SF 476). The bill improves the health and safety of patients at assisted living facilities, enhances protections for vulnerable adults who are experiencing maltreatment, and addresses program integrity challenges that have left Medicaid funded programs susceptible to fraud. Overall, the legislation is the result of a strong bipartisan agreement and working relationship. However, the majority of provisions were championed by DFL authors who are focused on improving the lives of the most vulnerable Minnesotans and the people who help them live and thrive.
“This bill addresses gaps in our system to ensure program integrity and continuity of care for the most vulnerable Minnesotans. We are taking strong action to protect taxpayer dollars while providing needed and live saving services.” said Rep. Mohamud Noor, Co-Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and author of the bill. “This is the result of strong bipartisan cooperation with a focus on passing effective legislation that tackles fraud in Human Services.”
At the center of the policy bill are provisions to strengthen program integrity around medical assistance. It creates stronger enrollment requirements for Medicaid providers to detect and prevent fraudulent providers, and gives more authority to the Department of Human services which it is required to utilize. There are also provisions throughout that clarify the authority of DHS to reduce ambiguous language that allowed some enforcement measures to slip through the cracks.
Protections for vulnerable adults are strengthened to bring the state into compliance with the federal Adult Protective Services Act. Several reforms and new duties are given to county investigative services to ensure vulnerable adults are adequately protected.
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