Dear Neighbors,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to each of you! A lesser known commemoration of today is the Second Committee Deadline, whereby policy bills need to have gone through committee in both the House and the Senate. Needless to say, lengthy, frequent committee agendas filled the calendar this week at the State Capitol.
Insurance Company Giveaway
On Monday, the House passed HF 5, creating a state program known as “reinsurance.” The Republicans are pushing this as a way to stabilize the health insurance market, but it’s costly, with little indication it will actually lower premiums.
Basically, the bill would allow insurance companies to backfill costs of large healthcare claims. It would cost the state $400 million or more over two years, and this money would come from the Health Care Access Fund, which funds MinnesotaCare, a program for low-income working Minnesotans. Minnesota HMOs, while technically “non-profit,” have huge reserves and very little accountability. It’s absolutely unconscionable that we’d take away a funding mechanism to provide health care for hard working Minnesotans to further benefit insurance company executives. What’s almost as bad as the proposal itself is that a majority of the board of directors set to oversee the new program would be made up of these insurance executives.
Instead of potentially taking away MinnesotaCare – which has served Minnesotans successfully for 25 years, I think we should go in the other direction, allowing more folks to enroll through the “MinnesotaCare Buy In” option. The buy-in would provide more affordable choices for an additional 100,000 Minnesotans who are currently in the individual market. Participant’s premiums would cover the entire cost of their policies, meaning there would be no ongoing cost to taxpayers.
I am encouraging Republican leaders to give our bill a hearing in the House; it’s our job as legislators to provide Minnesotans choices and options to improve their health and I’m committed to doing so.
Access to Government Information
One of my growing concerns has been the lack of ability Minnesotans have to gather information about the activities of their government. As government develops more and more technologies to gather information about citizens such as cell phone tracking, drones, license plate readers, and facial recognition technology, folks deserve to know how this data is being used.
The Legislature continues to carve-out exceptions to the law which presumes government data is public. As the DFL lead on the House Civil Law and Data Practices Committee, I have a big problem with this. Perhaps the most recent example occurred last year when police body camera regulations were enacted, and now it’s virtually impossible for the public to access any of this data.
The Star Tribune recently covered this issue in a story, and I was quoted in it. I encourage you to check it out.
At Issue
Last Sunday morning I appeared on KSTP’s “At Issue” to discuss my concerns about bills moving through the Legislature attacking the first amendment. The rights of Americans to assemble are guaranteed under the constitution, and while protests can cause a certain level of discomfort for some folks, the government ought not to penalize someone for exercising this right. We should welcome free speech, not restrict it. You can watch the clip here.
Soon, a lion’s share of the attention at the State Capitol will shift to the state budget, and the Republican majority’s budget priorities are expected to come out next week. You can be assured that my budget priorities will be based in ways to expand opportunities for working Minnesotans by investing in quality schools, affordable health care, a transportation system that works, and tax fairness for all Minnesotans. If you have ideas, I invite you to share them with me. Feel free to call or email me any time.
Sincerely,
John Lesch
State Representative