Oak Hills Living Center staff and board members are gearing up for another trip to the Capitol in St. Paul to demand fixes to Medicaid reimbursement delays for rural nursing homes, as well as funding for two pilot programs. (Left to right) Carolyn Varland, Candace Schuwiler, Dr. Ann Vogel, Izzy Wittbrod, Pat Booker, Connie Grams, Michael Boyle, and Anna McHolder.
NEW ULM – A convoy of Oak Hills Living Center representatives headed to the Capitol in St. Paul Monday morning to discuss overdue Medicaid reimbursements with lawmakers again.
The convoy included Oak Hills Administrator Candas Schouvieller; Oak Hills board members Dr. Anne Vogel, Pat Booker and Michael Boyle; Registered Nurses (RN) Connie Grams and Carolyn Varland; and Oak Hills staff members Izzy Wittbrod and RN Anna McHolder for infection control. The group will be joined by New Ulm Business Resource and Innovation Center (NUBRIC) director Paul Wessel in the capital.
This is Oak Hills’ second organized trip to the state capitol in 2024 and the fifth trip since January 2023.
The purpose of each trip was to press lawmakers to fix delays in reimbursing rural nursing homes. On that trip, however, the group had an additional request for lawmakers.
“We want to be a regional Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training site,” said Oak Hills Administrator Candas Schouvieller.
Nursing home staffing has been difficult for years. Oak Hills hopes to create a pilot training program for CNAs to help ease the demand for skilled nursing in rural Minnesota.
Oak Hills board member Dr. Anne Vogel said that in order to start the pilot program, Oak Hills will need additional money. She estimated the program could cost up to $500,000.
Vogel said that in addition to the CNA training program, the group intends to ask about starting a Scanalytics pilot program in Oak Hills. Scanalytics is a patented smart flooring technology that tracks foot traffic in a space. Technology can be used to manage occupancy controls and security. It can also monitor if a person has fallen. This technology could be valuable for senior living facilities.
Vogel said the group will take those requests for a pilot program directly to state Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar.
Vogel said Zheleznikar represents northern Minnesota, but previously worked as a nursing home administrator and has shown a willingness to fix problems with the state’s reimbursement system.
“She understands the struggles skilled nursing homes like Oak Hills face,” Vogel said. “She understands that rural nursing homes are in bad shape.”
Minnesota is required to reimburse nursing homes for their Medicaid costs after reviewing the nursing homes’ annual cost reports. However, Oak Hills and other rural nursing homes have found that it takes the state Department of Human Services 18 to 24 months to review rural nursing home reports, while metropolitan facility reports are usually completed within a year.
This means Oak Hills is being reimbursed for costs incurred in 2022. Due to inflation, costs have increased since 2022, forcing rural nursing homes to operate with greater debt. The result is that nursing homes in Minnesota’s out-of-state regions are struggling and closing at a time when the need for skilled long-term care will grow.
The concern is that rural nursing homes could continue to close if the state continues to prioritize reimbursement for metro nursing homes over those in Greater Minnesota.
