SF 1974

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 05/18/2015 10:03am

A resolution
memorializing the President and Congress to provide reimbursement under Medicaid
for services provided at the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center.

WHEREAS, the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center provides inpatient and
transitional services to patients from the Twin Cities metropolitan area who have severe mental
illness and co-occurring conditions; and

WHEREAS, the 200-bed facility, constructed in the era when treatment of mental illness
was typically provided in large institutions, is too large to be in keeping with current standards,
particularly those set forth in the Olmstead Plan, which call for person-centered treatment in
small and community settings; and

WHEREAS, even at its current size, the facility has long waiting lists for admission and
suffers frequent overcrowding; and

WHEREAS, the legislative report entitled "Plan for Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment
Center" (February 18, 2014) calls for a number of strategies to improve treatment at the facility
and to bring the use of AMRTC into line with current standards; and

WHEREAS, under current federal requirements, the facility's size means that most of its
patients are not eligible for federal reimbursement under Medicaid. The Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services do not allow medical assistance reimbursements for care that people ages 22 to
64 receive in psychiatric facilities of more than 16 beds. This exclusion forces the state to fund
the facility, at a cost of approximately $35 million in fiscal year 2014; and

WHEREAS, as part of the Reform 2020 proposal to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
in 2012, the Department of Human Services requested a waiver of the rules that prevent medical
assistance reimbursement to these patients. The waiver would allow the facility to serve as a
statewide resource to provide diagnosis and treatment for people with the most complex mental
illnesses and co-occurring conditions; and

WHEREAS, in a conference call held on February 26, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services informed the department that they would not approve the waiver request; and

WHEREAS, increased Medicaid reimbursements are crucial to the improvement of care
for those with serious mental illness and co-occurring conditions throughout the state's largest
metropolitan area while the facility reorganizes to provide treatment in smaller settings; NOW,
THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the President
and Congress to act to require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to approve the
needed waivers of federal rules and thus to permit medical assistance reimbursement for services
provided to the great majority of patients at Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Minnesota's Congressional delegation is urged to
support and seek the necessary waivers through the administration or through the legislative
process, or both.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United
States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk
of the United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions, the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, and
Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.