Unexpected funding increase heartens Minnesota addiction treatment providers

A couple of weeks ago at the end of the Minnesota Legislature s regular session Lewis Zeidner CEO of EOSIS formerly Meridian Behavioral Medical heard there was good financial news in the budget for the state s addiction healing providers a great number of of whom had disclosed they d likely shutter their programs if the state didn t dramatically increase its Medicaid reimbursement rates We ve heard this both formally and at chosen level informally that there will be certain increases in the budget Zeidner announced at the time but there s been no real clarity about the nature of those increases They could be really minimal or they could be essential Until last week when Gov Tim Walz called a -hour special session and lawmakers hastily got down to the business of tying up loose ends Zeidner didn t know if the news coming out of the Capitol would be good enough to keep the lights on at his organization s residential addiction medication programs that treat between - patients annually Related Legislature s funding boost to expand Anoka mental wellbeing hospital aims to reduce numbers of severely mentally ill in Minnesota s jails We ve been holding our breath Zeidner announced as he anticipated the news It s like waiting to come down and open your gifts but being not quite sure what s in the box As it turned out state legislators gave Zeidner and other Minnesota addiction therapy providers greater part of what they were hoping for when they passed a Healthcare and Human Services bill that will provide key increases to Medicaid reimbursement rates starting Jan and for the first time include an escalator provision that will automatically increase those rates each year tied to inflation Zeidner who not so long ago saw a dark future for his organization declared he feels that for the time being at least he can take a deep breath And he wants everybody to know It s one thing to whine when things aren t going well Zeidner noted It s just as or more major to speak up when things are genuinely going well The increases explained Zeidner explained that the Medicaid reimbursement rate increases are largely based on a independent survey commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Human Services DHS that unveiled state Medicaid funding was below what it genuinely costs the average venture to provide care In that analysis Zeidner disclosed the authors identified the gaps between the current rates of Medicaid reimbursement in Minnesota for various levels of care They determined that the cost that was being provided was substantially too low to provide the kind of care that was required With the DHS account in mind Zeidner disclosed state legislators determined what they felt the cost per day or the modeled rate should be for residential care For high-intensity care where patients stay in a substance-free facility with little or no access to the outside world and receive hours a week of therapy provided by licensed providers the new state reimbursement level will be set at of the modeled rate Healing at lower-intensity settings where Zeidner explained patients need a lower level of involvement and they can get specific passes have a visit with family take a walk in the park and do hours a week of therapy will be reimbursed at of the modeled Medicaid rate Related Legislature with GOP and DFL votes ends MinnesotaCare for undocumented adults Zeidner declared that the automatic Medicaid rate elevator provision that was also approved in the special session feels critically major to the ongoing survival of his organization and others like it In the past he announced Medicaid reimbursement rate increases were determined on a biannual basis with a special vote by legislators This provision makes the increases automatic and tied to national Medicare reimbursement rates This is the first time we ve had an automatic inflation escalator in the state Zeidner explained In the past he recalled We ve had to go back to the Legislature every time and say Please More porridge Now we don t have to do that anymore While Zeidner noted he would ve loved to see an across-the-board reimbursement rate increase he reported he feels confident that EOSIS and other similar organizations can continue to provide high-quality care for their patients under this new agreement The increases in all levels of care he explained allows for what we call a continuum of care Someone could start with a need for detox then shift to high-intensity care for a minimal weeks then lower-intensity or outpatient care for a inadequate weeks and then through a process build the strength to go back out into the world and recover from their addiction These increases allow us to really do what we set out to do This care makes a difference in people s lives While Zeidner commented he is happy about what the rate increases mean for addiction therapy organizations statewide he also realizes that not all nonprofits or other social amenity organizations got the funding they were hoping for this year We really are happy with this evolution particularly in context of the whole budget process Zeidner explained But we also recognize that for example people with disabilities got their benefits dramatically cut People in nursing homes benefits were dramatically cut That explained it s not like the sun consistently shines on addiction healing providers Zeidner revealed These reimbursement rate increases have been a long time coming We ve been skipped over for almost years Our rates were really way behind rates in much of the nation Legislators he theorized recognized in part that this issue had been kicked down the road for too long and now it s our turn We also worked really hard to advocate for this I appeared in front of committees four times I met with virtually every member of the senate and house committees that were working on these bills to get them to understand what this meant He revealed he d like to acknowledge the assistance of key legislators who helped push the increases through including Rep Mohammed Noor DFL-Minneapolis He spoke to the gravity of the situation in chosen of his comments to the whole House Zeidner revealed Also central to the effort was Sen John A Hoffmann DFL-Champlin Zeidner added He was very supportive Hoffman and his wife Yvette were casualties of the shootings Saturday morning that killed his colleague Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark This story was released before that case Zeidner noted that making such critical change happen this year required a level of determination and plain-talking that isn t reliably the way business is handled in this state Lew Zeidner What it took at various level is not being an understated Minnesotan Zeidner revealed You know how we in Minnesota tend to downplay our issues I had to say to legislators It is not going to be fine We re not going to make it Being that direct made clear the dire nature of the situation Along with this direct approach Zeidner revealed he also made a point to remind lawmakers of the positive impact that this kind of work has on all Minnesotans It s inevitably critical just to remind people that this care truly makes a difference in people s lives he explained It keeps people alive It s key to remember that it will be almost six months until the budget changes go into effect Until then organizations like EOSIS will have to make their budgets work and reassure staff that a better financial future is on the horizon We have to get from here to there Zeidner announced I think we ll be able to say to our people When we get to January there will be more ability to increase compensation We at least see a light at the end of the tunnel Along with eventually taking a deep breath now that he has been assured that his organization will be able to continue to serve people with mental illness and substance use disorder into the future Zeidner is also just taking a pause to feel thankful for how it all turned out I m grateful for anything he commented I recognize the difficulties of these financial times I m a rational human I understand these are formidable decisions people are having to make I m just thankful we will be able to continue doing our work The post Unexpected funding increase heartens Minnesota addiction recovery providers appeared first on MinnPost