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State Representative John Persell
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5516
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
Press/News Releases
HOUSE PASSES HEALTH CARE BILL WITH MA OPTION
St. Paul, MN – State Rep. John Persell helped pass a balanced health care budget bill Wednesday night that protects nursing homes, child care providers and low-income families, restores most of the mental health funding, and funds State Operated Services (SOS) dental clinics.
Most important, according to Persell, is that the bill provides health care coverage for thousands of Minnesotans, and offers significantly improved reimbursement levels to hospitals in rural Minnesota who were left out of the new scaled back General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) bill.
The cornerstone of the bill is the early Medical Assistance (MA) option for adults under 75% of the federal poverty guideline offered to Minnesota through the federal health care reform bill. By moving General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) recipients and a portion of those on MinnesotaCare to MA, consumers will be offered improved care, hospitals will receive significantly better reimbursement levels, and the state will receive a considerable financial boost.
“This is a great way to get back some of our hard earned tax dollars from the Federal Government," said Persell. “We put up $188 million, get $1.4 billion back, and use that money to provide more funding for Minnesota hospitals, clinics, nurses and doctors. This is good for Minnesota.”
The bill includes $114 million in cuts in 2011, and $155 million in 2012-13. Included among the cuts are a small rate reduction to hospitals and HMO’s, which will be more than offset by the early MA option, and a rate cut to specialists. Additional savings is garnered by delaying rate rebasing for both hospitals and nursing homes until 2013.
The bill generates $166 million in revenue through surcharges on hospitals, HMO’s and ICF/MR’s. The surcharges leverage federal money and are in large part repaid. Rep. Persell said the use of a surcharge is very similar to a proposal supported by the Governor and GOP House leaders in 2003.
“We are optimistic that by using a funding mechanism the Governor has supported in the past, we can increase the possibility he will sign this legislation into law,” said Persell.
The Senate also passed the conference report Wednesday night; it has now passed to the Governor for his signature or veto.
“For every additional dollar spent in this plan, we get $7.45 back from federal government,” said Persell. “At a time of continuing budget deficits and persistent deep cuts to the health care budget, this legislation succeeds in protecting our most vulnerable citizens, including seniors and children, and restores fiscal balance to the Health Care Access Fund.
I strongly encourage the Governor to sign this bill into law.”
News Items
- Rep. Persell: We Must Come Together to Help Citizens, Businesses Affected by Disaster - (Posted: 2012-08-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Persell: Today’s Hearing an Important First Step - (Posted: 2012-08-07 00:00:00)
- Rep. Persell: Omnibus Tax Bill Exemplifies Irresponsible Budgeting - (Posted: 2012-05-01 00:00:00)
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