The first waiver request was submitted in 1983 whereby states could request Medicaid funding to move individuals from state institutions to local group homes or to prevent movement into institutions.
Reaction was swift and sure. Six bills to repeal the waiver were introduced within weeks of the Legislative session that opened in January 1984. Legislators feared residents would leave state hospitals so quickly that closures would happen without adequate planning.
Rep. Dick Welch summed up citizens' concerns, saying there was no plan in place and that they didn't want another "Rochester closure in the middle of the night."
According to critics, Perpich's support of using Medicaid to move individuals from state institutions lacked adequate planning.