Human Service Omnibus bill were released in both the House and the Senate last week, while each bill contains many funding proposals that would impact people with disabilities or their support providers, below are the proposals most relevant to ARRM members.
House
What’s Included:
· Elimination of the need for a separate license or variance when supporting individuals in a Community Residential Setting through Alternative Overnight Supervision with Technology. (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item, will cost $315 thousand in the first biennium (24/25) and $330 thousand in the second(26/27)
· $35 million in one-time grants for providers to access to provide recruitment or retention bonuses for Direct Support Professionals (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item at $43 million)
· Move the next DWRS wage and inflationary adjustment from November 2024 to January 2024 and every two years after that (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item)
· Move up the data used to make the BLS DWRS adjustments by one year, resulting in the use of two-year-old data used when determining DWRS adjustments (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item to use most recently available data)
o Both DWRS proposals will cost $72 million in the first biennium and $193 million in the second biennium
· Creates a new rate floor for ICF/DD at $260 and allows for every two-year inflationary adjustment on the rate floor until a single ICF/DD rate is achieved (This is a proposal from the Governor’s budget and costs $5 million in the first biennium and close to $8 million in the second biennium.
· Establishes a new Life Sharing Service that is tied to a new Family Foster Care Rate Tier proposal (This proposal saves the state approximately $6.5 million in the second biennium. ARRM supports the creation of a Life Sharing Service but opposes the Family Foster Care Rate Tier proposal)
What’s not Included:
· The Best Life Alliance proposal to fully fund the Competitive Workforce Factor
· Removing Unit Based Respite from the DWRS framework.
· ARRM’s ICS proposal to add nursing and transportation into the ICS framework and allow more than one ICS provider in a multi-family building.
· Public Awareness Campaign to attract new employees to the “Caring Professions.”
· $50 a day increase for ICF/DD and a new rate floor of $300 for Class A and $400 for Class B
· Changes to Shared Services for IHST and allowing for the billing of in-direct time for IHS.
Senate
What’s Included:
· Move the next DWRS wage and inflationary adjustment from November 2024 to January 2024 and every two years after that (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item)
· Move up the data used to make the BLS DWRS adjustments by one year, resulting in the use of two-year-old data used when determining DWRS adjustments (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item to use most recently available data)
· Fully fund the Competitive Workforce Factor and allow for every two-year adjustment, including language that the Competitive Workforce Factor cannot drop by more than 2% on any given adjustment. (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item)
o The DWRS adjustments included in the Senate Omnibus will cost $111 million in the first biennium and $280 million in the second biennium
· $50 a day increase for ICF/DD and a new rate floor of $300 for Class A and $400 for Class B (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item, this provision will cost $25 million in each biennium)
· Removal of Respite from the DWRS framework (ARRM Legislative Item that will cost $109 thousand in the first biennium and $36 thousand in the second)
· Elimination of the need for a separate license or variance when supporting individuals in a Community Residential Setting through Alternative Overnight Supervision with Technology. (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item, will cost $315 thousand in the first biennium and $330 thousand in the second)
· $43 million in one-time grants for providers to access to provide recruitment or retention bonuses for Direct Support Professionals (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item)
· $4 million appropriation for DEED for a Public Awareness Campaign focused on bringing new employees to the “Caring Professions” (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item)
· Direction to the Commissioner to work with stakeholders in the development of a Life Sharing Service
· Expansion of Shared Services for IHST (ARRM Legislative Agenda Item, cost $417 thousand in the first biennium and $43 thousand in the second)
· Rate Increase for Positive Supports (Cost $890 thousand in the first biennium and $2.1 million in the second)
What’s not Included:
· Family Foster Care Rate Tiers (ARRM supports this provision not being included)
· Allowing providers to bill for in-direct time when providing IHST
· ARRM’s ICS proposal to add nursing and transportation into the ICS framework and allow more than one ICS provider in a multi-family building.
There are many other important proposals included in each bill, please reach out to me if you are tracking a proposal that is not listed above that you want to make sure ARRM is monitoring.
Looking ahead, the Senate will amend and pass their Human Service Omnibus bill out of Committee on Monday, the House passed theirs last Thursday. The Legislature will be on break beginning Tuesday, through the following Monday. When they reconvene, attention will turn to passing Omnibus bills off the floor and convening Conference Committees.
Please reach out with any questions and we will make sure to alert you when action is needed to assure our priorities make it across the finish line this session.
--Sara Grafstrom, Director of State and Federal Policy