ST. PAUL – House Democrats approved a bill Tuesday which Rep. Matt Bliss, R-Pennington, said ignores a long-term care crisis in our state by severely underfunding this portion of the state budget.
Bliss roundly criticized the House Human Services Finance omnibus package (S.F. 2934) for its lack of funding for nursing homes, which came to the floor accounting for just .01 percent of the Democrats’ $72 billion budget proposal that consumes the state’s $19 billion surplus and increases state General Fund spending by 40 percent.
“Clearwater County just announced it was doing away with in-home care due to a lack of funding and this situation is only going to get worse if we fail to deliver necessary support,” Bliss said. “It is beyond unacceptable for the House and Gov. Tim Walz to dedicate such a small fraction of their record spending total to help nursing homes pay their caregivers a livable wage and preserve access to care across the state. How much more bad news do we need before they stop dragging their feet?”
Meanwhile, Bliss said Minnesota is in the midst of a “silver tsunami,” with more than 1.3 million state residents aged 65 or older. As these residents age, he said, their need for care grows and it is unfortunate to see Minnesota is not keeping up with these needs.
Bliss indicated 2,597 nursing home beds have been taken out of service in Minnesota since 2020, the equivalent of shuttering 52, 50-bed homes. The long-term care industry in Minnesota, he said, currently is operating with a worker shortage of 53,000 and that, in the month of October alone, 11,000 elderly residents were turned away from nursing homes – largely due to lack of staff.
Bliss said the inability to fully staff our nursing homes then places added strains on hospitals, with nearly 20 percent of their bed space taken up by people who could be better served recovering in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
“People who rely on long-term care and the workers who provide these services deserve better from our Legislature,” Bliss said. “A conference committee will be working to put this bill in final form before it is presented for final passage and let’s hope key improvements are made to better fund long-term care in our state.”
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