MHCA Informer 3.18.26
Monday, March 16, 2026
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Posted by: Lauren Pause
YOUR BIMONTHLY SOURCE FOR HOME CARE NEWS
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Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Official Publication of Minnesota Home Care Association
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Inside the Informer
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Member News
MHCA In Action
State News
Federal News
Educational Opportunities
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Member News
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Is Succession Planning on Your Radar?
It should be! Home care succession planning is not just about people leaving—it’s about protecting the agency, staff, and clients if leadership changes unexpectedly or naturally over time.
Succession planning reduces organizational risk.
Register for the Leadership Summit now to learn more about creating an effective plan.
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MHCA IN ACTION
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Day at the Capitol and Advocacy Week
Last Thursday, March 12, MHCA hosted our annual Day at the Capitol, where members and clients come together to advocate for protecting access to care in Minnesota.
There, we pushed our bill, the Home Care Access Policy Bill. This legislation updates the structure for use of home care fine dollars to align more closely with changes passed into law last session for Assisted Living fine dollars and ensures timely filling of vacancies on the Minnesota Department of Health’s Home Care and Assisted Living Advisory Council.
We also collaborated with Home Care Nursing (HCN) agencies and families on a press conference advocating for legislation that would require insurance companies to comply with existing law and provide HCN coverage as intended under Minnesota Statute 62Q.545.
Continuity of Care
The paused funding for providers has led to gaps in service for some clients. Legislators are concerned about individuals going without necessary care and are seeking solutions to prevent this from happening in the future. Two bills were introduced in the past week addressing this matter: one from Representative Noor last week and the other from Senator Hoffman on Monday.
Executive Director, Kathy Messerli, was asked to testify and shared a few scenarios about clients going without care and urged legislators to ensure continuity of care during her testimony. If you are aware of other gaps in service due to funding interruptions related to Medicaid fraud investigations or other payment withholds, please let our Regulatory Affairs Manager know.
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State news
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New Tiered PCA and CFSS Agency Rates Updated
The Minnesota Department of Human Services has updated its payment system to apply the new tiered rates for Personal Care Assistance (PCA) and Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) agency model services that took effect on Jan. 1, 2026. The update was completed on Feb. 13, 2026, and the system is now processing PCA and CFSS claims submitted on or after that date using the correct tiered rates.
Governor Tim Walz’s Proposal to Transform the Human Services System
On March 10, Gov. Tim Walz unveiled a proposal to restructure how Minnesota delivers Medicaid services that includes centralizing much of the work handled now by counties and the state’s managed health care organizations.
Under the proposal, the Minnesota Department of Human Services would take over determining eligibility for Medicaid programs and eliminate the role of managed care organizations (private insurers the state contracts with to manage the benefits of Medicaid recipients). His proposal would also shift some responsibilities like eligibility verification away from counties and towards the state, since counties currently do most of the work of administering social services programs in Minnesota.
Walz announced he was leaving the gubernatorial race in early January, but also said his goal for his final year in office is to set the state up to prevent any future fraud.
People receiving PCA on Alternative Care (AC) Transition to CFSS
People receiving PCA on AC must transition to CFSS by March 31, 2026. AC case managers and supervisors should be aware and notify all affected.
DHS Resources for Revalidation Challenges
DHS has listed some resources to use if you are struggling with the revalidation process.
- Drop-in MPSE revalidation sessions: Revalidation specialists are available to answer questions and facilitate trainings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1pm. No registration is required for the sessions. Click here to get the link to join.
- Provider Resource Center contact form: Use the form here to send us your questions in advance. Provider revalidation experts will review and compile responses, and DHS will work to share answers in a timely manner during the weekly roundtable calls.
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federal news
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Final January 2026 Interim Performance Reports (IPRs) are Available in iQIES
The Final January 2026 IPRs for the expanded HHVBP Model are now available in the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES).
The quarterly IPRs provide home health agencies (HHAs) with their cohort assignment, performance year measure data for the most recent 12 months, and the interim Total Performance Score (TPS). Using the IPRs, HHAs can evaluate and monitor their performance relative to peers within their assigned cohort throughout the expanded Model performance year.
Click the link here to learn more.
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Educational Opportunities
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Upcoming MHCA Events - Register Today!
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MHCA Partnerships
Fueled Growth Partners is a company that provides a net zero cost supplemental health care plan with amazing benefits, while providing revenue to MHCA. Below are two upcoming Live Life Healthy Webinar dates. This is a great opportunity for MHCA members to learn how to enhance employee benefits, increase take-home pay, and reduce employer costs — all at ZERO net cost.
To schedule a personal presentation and get a no cost/commitment proposal based on your actual employee data
click here.
On-Demand Opportunities
Click on the logos below for a list of courses offered!
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Find on-demand education here!
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FREE FOR MEMBERS!
RCTCLEARN Resources:
RCTCLEARN’s OASIS-E1-Integrating Data Collection into Patient Care Training Series is available and consists of 8 comprehensive Online Modules.
Please visit
https://rctclearn.net/oasis
to order your OASIS-E1 Training Series Package. New
and returning OASIS Training Series clients will receive access to the OASIS-E1 Training
Series after payment is made.
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Save the Date
August 3-4, 2026 – Blueprint for OASIS Accuracy, Plymouth
August 5, 2026 – COS-C Exam, Plymouth
Other Educational Opportunities
Free Training
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Minnesota Home Care Association
P: 651.635.0607 | F: 651.635.0043 | www.mnhomecare.org | membership@mnhomecare.org
Mission: MHCA represents and supports Minnesota home care providers committed to high quality home care services.
Vision: MHCA will shape the home care landscape to improve and sustain quality home care services.
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