Friends,
Last week was an eventful week in St. Paul beginning with Governor Dayton's State of the State address on Monday where he collapsed and was escorted off of the House floor. The next day Governor Dayton informed us all that he has recently been diagnosed with cancer. I hope you will all join me in praying for the Governor's health and recovery moving forward.
Here is what else happened during this busy week:
I attended the Minnesota Excellence in Public Service (MEPS) breakfast last Saturday.
Health Care Premium Relief Bill Passed and Signed
This was the culmination of months of work to deliver health care premium relief along with key reforms that Minnesotans need. In total, the relief package totaling almost $327 million will be taken from the budget reserves. Here is a quick overview of the bill:
- $311,945,000.00 in premium relief will go to Minnesotans who purchased health care in the individual market.
- Anyone who purchased coverage from the individual market will receive a 25 percent discount on their premium invoices.
- $15 million will go to guaranteeing continuity-of-care for those currently undergoing life-saving treatment for an extra 120 days.
Reforms were also included to increase access and choices to begin to avoid out-of-control premium increases happening again. These are the first set of reforms with many more proposals for reform to come.
- Increase transparency by requiring the publishing of preliminary rate filings within 10 days of receiving them. This will make sure we won’t be blindsided again by huge rate increases so late in the year. If this requirement had been in place, the Legislature could have taken action to improve the 2017 market.
- Improve Access by allowing dropping the requirement that only non-profit HMOs to operate in Minnesota. This will allow for more choices in Minnesota’s market. This bill also makes it easier for small businesses to offer affordable plans by making changes to stop loss requirements for small businesses.
- End to surprise billing from health care providers. Surprise billing is when an in-network provider uses an out-of-center provider, such as an anesthesiologist or lab for tests, and bills the patient for out-of-network cost.
REAL ID
I have heard from some of you about the REAL ID issue currently making it's way through the committee and to the House floor.
As a quick reminder, the REAL ID bill, offers a two-track system to comply with the federal requirements established post-9/11 for air travel and federal facilities. The bill will allow Minnesotans to opt-in to a REAL ID compliant driver’s license so that those of you who want to can continue to board planes and enter federal facilities without needing a passport.
The bill offers a second option for those of you who do not wish to participate in the program that allows you to keep your current driver's license. The compromise of using a two-track system has served as a way to satisfy those concerned about the federally compliant IDs.
There was also a very good article by the Center of the American Experiment calling for the passage of REAL ID. You can read that here.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me. You can schedule a time to meet with me in my office any time by calling me at (651) 296-4192, or share your thoughts via email by emailing me at rep.regina.barr@house.mn
Have a great week!
Regina