Legislative Update: Reclaim your property, health insurance developments

Reclaim your property

The late Senator Jim Metzen and former Rep. Joe Atkins took on the challenge of reuniting Minnesotans with their property that has been left behind or otherwise lost. I have decided to pick up this torch.

Minnesota is holding $695.4 million in lost and unclaimed funds that rightfully belongs to people. The property could be the last paycheck from an old job, a final few hundred dollars in the bank account of a veteran who simply forgot about it when he got back from deployment, or an unclaimed insurance policy. All of these and many more eventually get placed into an account with the State of Minnesota known as the Unclaimed Property account.

I want the state of Minnesota to make a greater effort to get this property to its rightful owner. I have chief authored my first bill, HF 587, which will make improvements to how the property is reported to the public, will require an update on progress of returning property to the commerce committee, and will appropriate money to fund the costs of setting notices via print media, the internet, and social media.

In the meantime, the link to check and see if you have any unclaimed property waiting for you is here.

Health Insurance Developments

Since the passage of SF1, the bipartisan premium relief bill, there has been a number of developments that you should know about.

• There will be a one week enrollment extension. The special enrollment period will take place from February 1-8. Further extension of this enrollment period has been denied by the federal government.

• Medica will accept new enrollments. On Tuesday, it was announced that Medica ended up below their enrollment cap and will be able to accept new enrollees through February 8th. Medica policies are only available through MNsure this year.

• APTC vs. 25% Rebate: SF 1 excludes people who receive federal advanced premium tax credits (APTC) from also receiving the 25% state premium rebate. If a person receives no APTC, they will automatically receive the 25% state rebate.

Some people between 300-400% of Federal Poverty Guidelines qualify for an APTC, but either receive very little or nothing because of Obamacare's APTC calculation. This means an individual making $36,180-$48,240 may receive a substantially better benefit with the state rebate.

If you have already enrolled in a plan and receives an APTC that provides less benefit than what you would receive from the 25% rebate, you may cancel that policy and re-enroll without an APTC in order to benefit from the state rebate. This must be done by February 8.

Governor’s Budget Proposal

Last week, Governor Dayton rolled out his budget proposal for 2018-19. The governor is proposing roughly a 10 percent increase over the $41.5 billion 2016-17 budget to $45.8 billion.

Governor Dayton is proposing a $1.4 billion tax increase on trips to the doctor by extending the provider tax, and $1.5 billion in new taxes and fees in the next biennium alone by increasing the gas tax, tab fees, the Metro area sales tax, new license/title surcharges, and more; all this despite Minnesota's $1.4 billion surplus.

We will push for meaningful tax relief and a responsibly-sized state budget that respects hardworking Minnesota taxpayers. Minnesotans know we don't need billions in higher taxes while our state has a $1.4 billion surplus. Where we can work with Governor Dayton on our shared priorities, we will, but we also will fight for tax reform and to cut wasteful spending where appropriate.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue announced that more than 200 sites across the state are offering free tax assistance during tax season this year. There are two programs that are offering these services the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the AARP Tax-Aide program. Both programs have volunteers who are certified by the IRS to prepare basic tax returns in Minnesota.

The AARP Tax-Aide sites offer free tax preparation for all over the age of 50 without any income restrictions. The VITA program is available for those over the age of 60, for those with a disability, for those who speak limited or no English, or if your annual income is less than $54,000.

You can find the site nearest you here or call 651-297-3724. The list of items that you will need to bring when visiting a free tax prep site is available here.

Rep. Barr met with leaders from ISD 197 to discuss education