Legislators host listening sessions at Hills Tuff Home, Luverne MJB Home Jan. 18

Workers at the Tuff Memorial Home in Hills will receive pay raises, thanks to recent legislation that changes how nursing homes are funded.
The Minnesota Legislature recently passed the Senior Care Reimbursement Reform Bill, which gives $138 million in additional funding to nursing homes.
Tuff Administrator Laura Preheim said the funding is a welcome relief for the Hills facility.
“The board and I were eager to utilize the increased funding to increase starting and existing wages, increase health insurance benefits offered to full-time employees and their families, attract qualified workers to health care careers, and to offer nursing scholarships to qualified employee candidates," Preheim said.
Minnesota Rep. Joe Schomacker and Sen. Bill Weber, both of Luverne, will host a listening session from 2:45 to 3:15 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, at the Tuff Memorial Home in Hills with staff and administration to discuss how the new law will affect them.
Schomacker, Minnesota House Aging and Long Term Care Policy chairman, said the listening session will be an opportunity to discuss senior care and to put faces on those who provide care for seniors.
Preheim said she’s looking forward to the Jan. 18 event.
"We’re excited for the opportunity to meet our legislators from southwest Minnesota and honored that they have chosen Tuff Memorial Home as part of their statewide tour,” she said.
Previous Minnesota budget cuts tied to Medicaid reimbursements created a funding gap that hit rural nursing homes the hardest.
The new law means nursing homes in rural areas now will be reimbursed at the same rate as nursing homes in metro areas of the state.
According to information from Schomacker’s office, the estimated financial impact of the legislation for the Tuff Home is as follows:
•Annual change in Medicaid and estimated private revenue for Rate Year 2016: $509,000. (This new revenue will be in addition to the care center's current reimbursement amount.)
•Change in Medicaid revenue per resident day: $31.23.
•Percent change in Medicaid revenue: 20.49 percent.
Schomacker said senior care facility residents and the people who care for them are already starting to see the benefits of 2015’s senior care reforms.
Under these reforms, payment rates set by the state for all residents — those who pay privately and those who rely on government assistance — will better reflect the actual costs of care.
As a result, some facilities have already been able to fill open positions, give employees raises, increase benefits and expand staff development opportunities.
Real performance incentives are also a key piece of the reform, meaning that a center that provides exceptional quality can see an increase in its rates.
Schomacker and Weber will host a similar listening session in Luverne following the one in Hills. It will be from 3:45 to 4:15 p.m. at the Good Samaritan Society — Mary Jane Brown Home on South Walnut Avenue.
The estimated financial Impact for the Mary Jane Brown Home in Luverne is as follows:
•Annual change in Medicaid and estimated private revenue for Rate Year 2016: $650,000. (This new revenue will be in addition to the care center's current reimbursement amount.)
•Change in Medicaid revenue per resident day: $46.16.
Percent change in Medicaid revenue: 30.95 percent.
 
— Hills Crescent writer Glenda McGaffee contributed to this article.