Dear Neighbors,
I hope you are having a great week. I’d like to take a moment to provide a brief update on a few legislative items.
Health Insurance Premiums
A key priority of mine this session is addressing the steep premium increases families on the individual market are facing. These people in our community and across the state need help now. Minnesotans should have access to affordable and dependable health coverage for themselves and their families.
On Thursday last week, I was glad to support the Governor’s bill to provide a 25 percent premium reduction for 125,000 Minnesotans. The legislation would immediately start the relief process and swiftly move toward implementation.
The House Majority presented their version of a health insurance premium relief bill, however, it was bundled with several specific healthcare reform policies. I’m open to exploring these ideas, however rushing to push through significant changes too quickly could make things worse for those in the individual market.
It is our job as public civil servants to be thoughtful and thorough about passing any sort of legislation, especially when it comes to Minnesotans’ health insurance. We need to pass relief now. Changes on how to stabilize the health care market for the long term need to be discussed with time for transparent input from the public and industry experts.
League of Women Voters Legislative Brunch
A big thank you to all who attended the League of Women Voters Legislative Brunch last Saturday. We had a great turn out and an excellent conversation about priorities for the state budget, election and voting rights, and how to promote bipartisanship at the Capitol, to name a few items.
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan political organization that strives to keep citizens informed and active in government participation, influencing public policy through education and advocacy.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on any of these issues discussed or others that you care about.
Visit the Capitol!
The major work on the Capitol is complete, and open to the public. Check out the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos here. There will be continued work on some smaller details, to be completed by September, 2017. I encourage you to book a tour here to enjoy the full features of this amazing People's House.
Stay Informed
For gavel-to-gavel video coverage of the house, here a list of sources you can follow to stay updated on House committee and House Floor coverage:
Broadcast television schedule:
www.house.mn/htv/htv.asp
Broadcast television channels:
www.house.mn/htv/channel.pdf
Webcast/mobile streaming schedule:
www.house.mn/htv/schedule.asp
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/user/MNHouseInfo
Please stay in touch throughout the session. I value your input.
Sincerely,
JoAnn Ward