Session Summary for Minnesota Legislature in 2025

On June 9, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the Legislature into a one-day Special Session after agreements were reached on budget bills needed to avoid a state government shutdown on July 1. The special session has since ended, and the bills have been signed into law to fund state government operations for the FY2026-2027 biennium. Below is a summary of the issues of focus for our Chapter during the Regular or Special Session.

• The legislature passed our bipartisan bill to establish a Dementia Services Program manager within the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). A state Dementia Program Manager at MDH will coordinate work across agencies, evaluate programs, reduce inefficiencies and identify gaps in services, as well as be responsible for updating and implementing the Minnesota Dementia Strategic Plan. This is a public health strategy that has been successful in other states. We are excited to see this model move forward in Minnesota.

• State lawmakers passed legislation to enable the Department of Human Services (DHS) to continue to use any unspent money from this budget cycle for respite. We will work with DHS to establish how much is remaining and ensure partners are aware so that they can continue to apply. We did not receive any new dollars though to fund caregiver respite programs due to the $270M in cuts made by the state to the human services budget over the next two years to address the looming deficit.        

• Our bipartisan proposal to require insurance coverage of the new Alzheimer’s drugs for people who are not eligible for Medicare did not advance. We will reintroduce this bill during the 2026 session and continue to educate policymakers on the need to address disparities in coverage for those with the disease under the required age to receive Medicare benefits.

• The omnibus education bill that was signed into law included a change that we introduced last year which encourages school educators to provide instruction on healthy aging and dementia for students in grades 6-12. This policy is a recommendation from the Alzheimer’s Association Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map.

• Several changes were made to policies governing nursing homes and assisted living facilities to strengthen protections for residents, which includes a provision to ensure residents are protected if they switch from private to public funding through Medicaid and increased transparency surrounding the acquisition of long-term care facilities by private equity firms.

• The state added those diagnosed with dementia to the definition of “endangered” people for the purposes of inclusion in the statewide Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s (BCA) missing persons alert program as a means to identify and protect those with the condition who may wander or become lost and at-risk.

Attempts to limit the new paid family leave program were unsuccessful. This new program provides time off for when a serious health condition prevents a worker from working, or when they need time to care for a family member or a new child. We supported this program when it was created two years ago because it is vital for caregivers.

Highlights from the 2025 North Dakota Legislature

• The language that created the Dementia Care Services Program was updated to reflect changes to how we understand and talk about the dementia and caregivers
• We secured level funding for the Dementia Care Services Grant, $1.605 million for the biennium
• We secured legislative intent for ND Health and Human Services to address statewide dementia coordination