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State Representative Dean Urdahl
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4344
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Email update
More HHS improvements
Dear Neighbor,
Greetings from St. Paul, where we spent a significant amount of time on the floor this week. One of the most significant bills we passed would allow us to build on health and human services improvements we made last year.
The HHS omnibus bill (H.F. 2294) promotes accountability and value in our health system, while supporting providers and families and maximizing the use of limited resources. Our proposal would help us do more to maximize the effectiveness of our tax dollars, while ensuring citizens who truly need help receive it. Our goal is to deliver the right services to the right person at the right time in the most effective manner.
We also are working to help Minnesotans achieve a self-sufficient lifestyle so they can rise above government reliance. The bill provides tools for connecting people with services and skill-building tools. The goal is to reduce dependence on the state, while providing Minnesotans with better opportunities to be successful.
Three economic support grants in the bill include the Ladder Out of Poverty, Circles of Support, Northern Connection. It is important to make the distinction these groups are different from welfare. They all promote the philosophy of providing a hand up instead of issuing hand-outs in order to build foundations for families to get out of poverty and sustain themselves.
Another important provision would help state agencies coordinate better, promoting inter-agency communication and data sharing. Better departmental coordination would go a long way to protecting the integrity of our systems. Opening these lines of communication would help us be sure the people who need assistance are receiving it, while establishing restrictions that ensure public assistance dollars are being used as intended.
An external cost-benefit analysis provided in the bill would help us understand the strengths and shortcomings of the health and human services system, providing us with a solid, empirical basis for future reform. Minnesota’s taxpayers, providers, and consumers deserve to know our state services are efficient, accountable and valuable. This type of study would help us answer these questions: Are we getting the results we desire? Is the cost of putting more money into a program worth the expenditure? If prevention is the desired outcome, do they truly help achieve those goals?
We are now waiting for the Senate to act on this bill so we can send it to the governor for his review. I encourage him to approve the bill when it arrives on his desk.
Sincerely,
Dean
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