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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
GUEST COLUMN
Budget work remains as session hits home stretch
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
After legislative attention was diverted to the state political conventions for a couple of weeks, lawmakers have two weeks left in the session to wrap up several big pieces of legislation. The long-awaited deficit-reduction bill for the areas of Health and Human Services was unveiled April 26, and a long list of testifiers spoke against the across-the-board cuts in committee hearings in the days following.
I have received concerns from folks who work in the areas of mental health, nursing homes, and hospitals. An information piece received from the hospital group talks about the ramifications of a “whopping 7 percent Medicaid cut to Minnesota hospitals.” Under the Democratic House bill (HF 2614), metro hospitals would see their rate cut on July 1 of this year. Rural hospitals are given a one-year reprieve from the rate cut; theirs would take effect July 1 of next year.
Another disturbing development in this area is the lack of enthusiasm for the new program that replaced the state-provided health care plan known as GAMC. Original plans called for 17 of the state’s largest hospitals to become coordinated-care delivery systems and provide complete care for all patients who enroll in the program at their facility. With the announcement April 27 that the state’s largest hospital – Hennepin County Medical Center – was not going to take part in the program, that left only one (Regions Hospital in St. Paul) remaining. It also leaves the viability of the new program in doubt.
Legislators are scrambling to come up with a fix, although the new federal health reform bill that allows for an expansion of Medicaid still appears too expensive for the state to afford. With all these hospitals not participating in the new state program, any care they deliver to this group of residents after June 1 will be uncompensated. If they had become part of the system, there would at least be some level of payment from the state. Those 17 hospitals were slated to receive $70 million in funding for the coming year. Outstate hospitals can still receive payment from a $20 million pool the rest of the year for covered services.
There finally will also be an education bill this session. After the controversial committee meeting several weeks ago where Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher was seated at the head table, and a new bill outlining the state’s education reform plans was unveiled, a totally different bill was introduced April 26 in the K-12 Finance Committee. It’s a much scaled-back version of the earlier bill and lacks many of the reform ideas that need to be included in any future Race To The Top federal application.
One section of the bill certain to draw review is an article that authorizes a school board to renew an expiring operating referendum by adoption of a written resolution if the renewal is sought for the same dollar amount and term as the expiring referendum.
Another section adds physical education to the list of state-required academic standards. This “mandate” would become effective for all students beginning in the 2012-13 school year.
One very positive thing the new bill does is put the education shift into statute. By codifying the shift done last summer by the Governor Pawlenty’s unallotment, it sets in motion a schedule for paying the shift back to the state’s schools when the money becomes available.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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- ANDERSON TAKES HOUSE OATH - (Posted: Jan 8 2013 12:00AM)
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- Current surplus allows K-12 repayment - (Posted: Dec 10 2012 12:00AM)
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