Advisory Task Force on Waiver Reimagine meeting summary

Date: Aug. 24, 2026

Attendees

Support staff

Anna Yesberger, Kristi Arntzen, Frances Van Houten, Jessica Shyrack, Elian Sorensen, Stephen Pawlowski and Jami Petner-Arrey

Advisory Task Force on Waiver Reimagine members

Rev. Katrin Bachmeier, Jennifer Ballinger, Tricia Brisbine, Kris Erickson, Linda Fairchild, Heidi Hamilton, Lisa Harrison-Hadler, Dr. Katrina Jirik, Jenna Johnson, Meredith McKinnon, Jillian Nelson, Jenn Purrington, Gretchen Spier and Chad Wilson

Meeting objectives

· Understand the recalibrated budget ranges for the Individual Support Waiver.

· Provide preliminary direction on recommendations for the Advisory Task Force on Waiver Reimagine legislative report due January 2027.

· Provide preliminary direction on learning from the public.

Agenda

Welcome

· The regular August meeting of the task force was held virtually via Cisco Webex. Frances Van Houten, the meeting facilitator, provided a general overview of the meeting agenda and shared attendee expectations.

Updates from DHS

· The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has not yet determined the new go-live date for Waiver Reimagine (WR).

· DHS updated language describing the WR budget framework and will incorporate it into upcoming communications, trainings, resources and guidance. DHS will continue assessing this language to make sure it is clear and effective.

· DHS is piloting two new MnCHOICES eligibility assessment questions to identify people with extraordinary medical or behavioral needs.

· In collaboration with their budget methodology contractor, Human Services Research Institute (HSRI), DHS drafted recalibrated budget ranges for the Individual Support Waiver. DHS shared these ranges with the task force and expert panel, and will use feedback from both groups to finalize the budget ranges before sharing them publicly. DHS also plans to share draft budget ranges for the Residential Support Waiver with these two bodies in the future.

· DHS regional resource specialists are working with the DHS support planning team to host regional meetings with case managers, case aides, assessors, supervisors and others to collect feedback on WR.

· DHS clarified that recent waiver amendments, which have been released for public comment, are not directly related to WR. These amendments are related to legislation passed during the 2026 legislative session. DHS is required to collect public input before submitting waiver applications and amendments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Individual Support Waiver budget ranges

· Task force members discussed the draft budget ranges for the Individual Support Waiver and requested more information about the following:

Their role in providing input.

How the ranges were developed.

Processes for approving exceptions and out-of-budget services.

The percentage of individuals estimated to have needs exceeding their budgets.

· Task force members were asked to email their key takeaways, comments and/or recommendations regarding the draft Individual Support Waiver budget ranges report to Calla Oftedahl, DHS’s WR project director.

Recommendations: Preliminary direction

· Task force members began discussing recommendations for their legislatively required recommendations report. Based on recommendations discussed in small work groups, the meeting facilitator presented the following draft categories for consideration:

Proof of concept: Will the design work in the real world?

System readiness: Can the design be successfully implemented?

Are the desired outcomes achieved? Does WR work for people and the system?

Continuous improvement: How can WR keep getting better after implementation?

· The task force started considering recommendations within each of these categories.