Today’s Strib looked at how a state government shutdown would limit the ability of home care agencies to hire nurses and personal care attendants. The state performs thousands of background checks each month on PCAs and nurses hired to serve Medicaid clients. If the state shuts down and can’t conduct background checks, agencies may not be able to hire people to fill shifts for clients. I may face this problem myself since I might need to hire a new nurse in the near future. A judge will ultimately decide whether this is an essential service, but not until later next week.
Dayton and Republican legislators are scheduled to meet tomorrow and Saturday to try to resolve their differences. I cling to a small sliver of hope that they can find agreement.
