Howe condemns Human Services budget that cuts services for most vulnerable Minnesotans and hits district 13 with crippling nursing home cuts

The majority’s Human Service budget, HF 2434, passed yesterday out of the Senate, where it failed to achieve strong bipartisan support. The legislation cuts more than $1 billion from long-term care and disability services over the next four years, and drew sharp criticism from Senate Republicans for its misplaced priorities, failure to crack down on fraud, and deep cuts to long-term care facilities and disability services.

This legislation includes more than $1 billion in reductions over the next four years that will hit long-term care facilities, disability services, and nursing homes across the state. At the same time, the Human Services policy bill, which also passed the Senate yesterday without strong bipartisan support, adds expensive and burdensome new mandates and regulations for long-term care providers.

“This is a bad bill all around, and does little to help those who need it the most – Democrats couldn’t balance a budget, and now our most vulnerable are the ones paying the price of that,” said Sen. Jeff Howe (R-Rockville). “The most troubling portion concerns the nursing home cuts. This is going to harm so many in our area of the state. How are we going to explain to our loved ones in these facilities – to the staff in these facilities – how do we tell them all that Democrats didn’t think they needed this funding, that they thought it was more important to preserve MNCare access for those here illegally? These funding cuts are unacceptable and Senate Democrats should be ashamed of this proposal.”

According to The Long Term Care Imperative, this year’s nursing home cuts will hit Senate District 13 with devastating numbers totaling $7.5 million over the next four years:

  • Good Shepherd Lutheran Home (Sauk Rapids) – $1,900,203
  • Country Manor Health and Rehab (Sartell) – $1,803,886
  • Paynesville Health Care (Paynesville) – $1,778,110
  • Mother of Mercy Campus Care (Albany) – $1,286,800
  • Assumption Home Inc. (Cold Spring) – $665,501
  • Ecumen Sartell Therapy Suites (Sartell) – $77,055

Notably, the original budget included a major property tax hike disguised as a budget solution, but a key Republican amendment eliminated all county cost shifts.

Despite making more than $700 million in net budget reductions, Senate Democrats opted to preserve taxpayer-funded health care for undocumented immigrants through MinnesotaCare. Since the program launched in January 2025, 17,396 undocumented individuals have enrolled in MinnesotaCare, nearly triple the original first-year estimate of 5,874. As a result, cost projections have risen to over $600 million over the next four years. The Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence is also warning that Minnesota is heading down the same path as states like Illinois and California, where expenses quickly spiraled out of control.

Senate Republicans offered two amendments to repeal this policy and redirect the funding toward seniors and disability services. Democrats refused to debate these amendments, using procedural rulings to block discussion.

“We can’t even help our nursing homes and put Minnesotans first, so why should we be funding services to those here illegally?” continued Howe. “With a $6 billion deficit, we need to be thoughtful in how we budget, and every single program we fund should focus solely on meeting the needs of those who are here legally.”

Despite the poor state of the bill, Senate Republicans were able to successfully add multiple amendments:

The legislation now moves to a conference committee, where House and Senate members will finalize the details.