Hello LeadingAge Missouri Members! It’s May Day! While Spring technically starts March 20, May feels more like Spring. May is also crunch time for the Missouri Legislature, with Session ending May 16. And this May – breaking from our traditional Fall Annual Conference – the seminal Spring Annual Conference is the last week of the month. Not surprising then, Legislation and the Annual Conference dominate my May 1 perspective.
Budget Legislation – State & Federal!
The Missouri Senate passed its version of the FY 2026 State Budget this week. Now, the House and Senate will negotiate Budget differences and each pass the compromised Budget – all before May 9, when it must be presented to the Governor.
The Senate Budget is better for senior care than the House version because the Senate embraces Governor Kehoe’s higher recommended spending for increased Medicaid utilization in SNFs and HCBS. While the FY 2026 Budget will not include increased reimbursement over 2025 rates, higher utilization coverage is a show of support for senior care. Postponing rate increases till next year strategically supports every-other-year- rebasing for SNF rates and acknowledges recent HCBS increases. That’s what LA MO members told Legislators on Advocacy Day March 12 (see article below). Our “lobbyists-for-a-day” also urged passage of bills to expand practice authority for nurse practitioners and to provide a legal failsafe for healthcare provider decisions when residents/patients are incapacitated and don’t have a healthcare directive. Unfortunately, it appears neither of these policy initiatives will be added to omnibus healthcare bills that may become law this year.
On the federal legislative front, all eyes are on the Budget Reconciliation Process, where steep Medicaid spending cuts and/or cost-shifting proposals are under consideration. House committees will debate and make spending decisions starting next week! To learn more and to lend your voice to grassroots advocacy efforts to protect and preserve Medicaid, please read and act on this Action Alert!
Annual Conference – May 28-30, Lodge of the Four Seasons, Lake Ozark
What an Annual Conference we have planned for you after Memorial Day! Participants will benefit from education sessions and extraordinary opportunities to reconnect with colleagues. There are sessions on staffing plans that work and work cultures that optimize. You may choose presentations to help you produce better care plans or superior strategic plans. And there are opportunities to learn about products and services to enhance your operations and social media strategies to build your occupancy. You will leave the 2025 Annual Conference better equipped and more inspired to make a difference for your residents and community! Don’t miss out! Register here today.
Our theme for the 56th annual gathering of LA MO members is “Ripples of Impact”. We’ll certainly be making a big splash Day 1 with an extraordinary keynote by Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree, Father Greg Boyle. As a young Jesuit priest in east Los Angeles, Father Greg witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of gangs and gang violence. His response: Love, compassion, and the founding of Homeboy Industries – the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. Homeboy has altered the lives of thousands of former gang members (“homies”). And Father Greg is an inspirational example of how ideas spark actions that produce profound impact. Father Greg and his homies made a “ripple” that became a wave. Don’t miss Father Greg Boyle’s inspirational message of hope. Members may register for the full conference, or for a single day of education, inspiration, and fellowship. Or, members may attend only Father Greg’s keynote on a complimentary basis. Happy May! See you at the Lake!
Yours in service,
Bill