Dear Neighbors,
I hope you’re enjoying the recent break from the bitter temperatures; a January thaw is always nice. I just hope it lasts!
Health care relief
Up at the Capitol, my main focus right now is getting health care premium relief to Minnesotans affected by the surging rates in the individual insurance market.
Two plans have been presented to help bring down the impact of those health care premiums. We debated the GOP-sponsored bill on Thursday but I have reservations about their plan. State agencies would have to handle much of the burden, delaying relief until 2018 for Minnesotans who need it now. The bill passed off the floor of the House and will now go to conference committee where any differences with a similar bill the Senate passed last week will be reconciled.
It also includes reforms to the way our health insurance system operates in Minnesota. I’m open to reforms regardless of who offers them, but I want their potential impact to be studied carefully and debated publicly. That takes time, which means we need to deal with relief and reform in separate bills.
Gov. Dayton’s plan is much quicker and could get relief to Minnesotans faster. It’s been hailed as a simple, direct example of government planning; exactly the type of intervention we need.
REAL ID
I know there’s a lot of concern about the January 2018 deadline for REAL ID compliance in Minnesota. If we do not get a plan in place by then, it’s possible that Minnesotans will be unable to use their driver’s licenses to board airplanes, enter military bases, or access some federal buildings.
We’ve been working on this in committee, and a bill is currently moving through the House. Unfortunately, there are some unnecessary requirements that have been attached to that bill which is slowing down the process. If we can find common ground there, we’ll be on our way to finding a viable solution.
You can read more about both of these issues in my column in the Austin Daily Herald.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns on any issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4193 or by email at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Poppe
State Representative
Twitter: @RepPoppe