A little-known state advisory council is about to make recommendations that could change how Minnesota supports older adults, people with disabilities and the community organizations that serve them.
On October 21, the Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Advisory Council will vote on proposals that include eliminating two grant programs that help older adults stay safely at home.
What’s Happening
In 2025, the Minnesota Legislature created the LTSS Advisory Council and gave it a difficult task: find $177.5 million in savings in long-term services and supports for the 2028–2029 biennium. Its recommendations are due to the Legislature by December 1. If the council can’t identify enough savings, current law calls for automatic cuts starting July 1, 2027, including lower disability waiver rates and more costs shifted to counties.
The council’s first set of recommendations, shared in July, fell short of that target. In August, members developed four more. Several would directly affect older adults and the organizations that serve them:
- Eliminating Live Well at Home grants: These grants, about $7.7 million a year, fund community organizations that provide caregiver support, respite, transportation, chore services and home modifications for people 65 and older at risk of needing nursing home care.
- Eliminating Eldercare Development Partnership grants. These grants, about $1.8 million a year, fund local staff who help communities plan services for older adults and help organizations apply for and manage grants like Live Well at Home.
- Raising Alternative Care fees. Older adults with incomes below the federal poverty guideline, who now pay nothing, would begin paying 5% of their service costs, and fees would rise at every other income level.
Other proposals reach beyond aging services, including a new asset limit on Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities and the elimination of the Family Support Grant for families of children with disabilities. Together, they show how much is on the table for Minnesotans across the lifespan. A full breakdown of the council’s recommendations are available on the Minnesota Department of Human Services website. [PDF]
Our Stance
In a letter to the council, MAAA urged members to reject the proposal to eliminate Live Well at Home and Eldercare Development Partnership grants.
We understand the pressure the council is under. But these programs are prevention. They help older adults stay in their homes and communities, and out of far more expensive care paid for by the state. Cutting them would not save money. It would shift costs to Elderly Waiver, Medical Assistance and nursing facility care.
Live Well at Home and Eldercare Development Partnership grants together cost about $9.5 million a year. They are designed to do something every taxpayer benefits from: help older adults who are at risk of needing nursing home care stay healthy and independent at home longer. Each month a move to a nursing home is safely delayed can mean real savings for the state.
The impact would reach every corner of Minnesota. In rural communities, Live Well at Home grant recipients provide respite, chore help and transportation across large service areas, sometimes where no other service options exist. In the metro and beyond, the program funds culturally specific organizations whose trusted relationships open the door to care for older adults who would likely go without help elsewhere. Eldercare Development Partnership staff help small, community-rooted organizations find and manage the funding that makes services available to the older adults who need them most.
These are the organizations many of us work with or encounter every day. Protecting the funding behind their work is how we keep older adults connected to the support they rely on.
What’s Next
This is not over after one vote. Here’s what to watch:
- October 21: The council votes on whether to send these recommendations to the Legislature.
- December 1: The council’s final recommendations are due to the Legislature.
- January 2027: The legislative session begins, and lawmakers will decide which recommendations become law.
What You Can Do
We’re asking providers, caregivers, community partners, advocates and anyone who cares about how Minnesota supports its older residents to pay attention. Follow the council’s work, share this update with your colleagues and networks, and stay tuned as the session gets underway. Decisions made in the coming months will shape what support is available to older adults and the organizations that serve them for years to come.
If you have benefitted from Live Well at Home or ElderCare Development Partnership grant funding, we want to hear from you. Please reach out to EDP@metroaging.org and let us know how these programs have made an impact for you, your family and community.
MAAA will keep speaking up and will share updates and opportunities to get involved as this moves forward. For more information about the council and its recommendations, visit the LTSS Advisory Council page on the Minnesota Department of Human Services website.