2026 Legislative Session Recap
The 2026 legislative session ended on May 18, 2026. This session was heavily impacted by a variety of issues: fraud, waste and abuse, the impacts of the Big Beautiful Bill (HR1), Medicaid withholds by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Operation Metro Surge, the assassinations and attempted assassinations of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, Mark Hortman, their dog Gilbert, Chair John Hoffman, Yvette Hoffman, and Hope Hoffman.
While it was a difficult session, several bills were signed into law by Governor Walz. OOLTC celebrated the passage of the 2 issues below.
People have reported to OOLTC waiting in the hospital for weeks and months for a guardian or conservator. Many individuals are hoping to gain admission to a nursing home or assisted living facility but have been told they cannot move out of the hospital and into their new home until they have a guardian or conservator. These are the most rights restrictive options for supported decision-making in the state.
OOLTC worked with the Consumer Advocates Coalition to prevent nursing homes and assisted living facilities from requiring guardianship or conservatorship as a prerequisite for admission or continued stay. While guardianship and conservatorship remain an option for those residents who need it, OOLTC anticipates a reduction in the number of individuals waiting to leave the hospital while waiting for a guardian or conservator to be assigned by a judge.
Less restrictive options for supported decision-making (such as Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive documents) can be a helpful tool to ensure residents have the decision-making help they actually want. This new law is a step towards ensuring supported decision-making is more prevalent for Minnesotans.
Physical, chemical, and emergency manual restraints are used in assisted living facilities. Up until the 2026 legislative session, there hasn’t been any guidance for what providers can and cannot do and what residents and families can expect. After several years of working with the Minnesota Department of Health, providers, and other interested parties, residents in Minnesota’s assisted living facilities finally have laws in place that protect them from restraints use that is often very harmful.
In 2019, the Consumer Advocates Coalition, providers, state agencies, and others gathered to create a license for assisted living facilities in the state. As one of the last states in the nation to take this step, licensure was sorely needed. As the end of session approached, all parties agreed to return to the issue of restraints and work on language that would give providers guidance and residents assurance for what could and could not be done. This year, a compromise was finally reached.
Bed rails chosen by residents was a key issue in this negotiation. While imperfect, there is specific language supporting resident choice in using assistive devices such as bed rails that also comforts provider fears of being held accountable for residents exercising their rights. While OOLTC maintains that person-centered planning has always required assisted living facilities to communicate and document information about risks and recalls, residents have the right to choose to use assistive devices that they find helpful. This law now codifies that right.
To work with a Regional Ombudsman on these or other issues you or a family member may be experiencing, call OOLTC’s main intake line at 651-431-2555 or 1-800-657-3591.
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