SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Residents of two Minnesota Veterans Homes would receive a raise in their personal needs allowance for the first time since 1997 thanks to legislation Senator Karla Bigham (DFL-Cottage Grove) will be introducing in the 2020 Legislative Session.
“The last time these rates were increased for our veterans, I was graduating from high school,” said Senator Bigham. “While their per diem has stayed stagnant, the cost of these goods has gone up due to the cost of inflation. It’s well past time that we increased the per diem for our veterans.”
Senator Bigham announced she would be introducing the bill earlier today while attending a town hall forum for veterans’ issues with Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Herke, Congresswoman Angie Craig, and Representative Tony Jurgens. The legislation would increase the personal needs allowance for domiciliary residents at the Hastings and Minneapolis Veterans Homes beginning in 2021. The bill will increase the domiciliary rate from $90 to $122 in 2021, $122 to $130 in 2022, and thereafter, the annual increase would be one half of a percentage change in the consumer price index.
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