Dear Neighbor,
Tip of the cap to Eddie Keul for being inducted into the Cold Spring Lanes Hall of Fame. The Cold Spring Record indicates that in 1962 Eddie carried an impressive 194 average. It just makes you wonder how many pins total Eddie knocked down in his career.
As for work at the Capitol, the House on Monday approved a bill which aims to provide double-digit reductions on health insurance premiums by mitigating the impact of high-risk consumers in the individual market.
The proposal (H.F. 5) is known as the Minnesota Premium Security Plan and it would establish a state-based reinsurance program administered by the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association, which for more than 40 years ran a high-risk pool that brought stability to the individual market and ensured the sickest Minnesotans had access to coverage.
It insures those with the greatest need, those that are the sickest will now be able to get insurance at a decent premium. It could reduce those premiums by about 18 percent, so that will bring us back to what we used to have with the MCHA fund. Those that need that insurance, that have a pre-existing condition, will now be able to get that insurance at a decent rate like we used to be able to.
Other bills continue making their way through the committee structure, including one I have authored to provide funding for programs that create jobs, especially in Greater Minnesota. The bill (H.F. 1916) would make appropriations to DEED, for three programs:
- $15,000,000 each year of the 2017-18 biennium to the Minnesota Investment Fund
- $12,500,000 each year of the 2017-18 biennium to the job creation fund
- $10,000,000 in FY2018 to the redevelopment program
A number of companies in our district have participated in these programs over the years, such as Blattner Energy in Avon and Louis Industries in Paynesville. The bill received good support in the committee and I look forward to continuing my work on this so we can help businesses expand in Greater Minnesota and create good jobs for local folks.
Another bill (H.F. 2164) I have been bringing through the committee process would allow Support our Troops funding to be used to pay for burial ceremonies for spouses and dependents of veterans at state veterans cemeteries. There is no charge for spouses and dependents to be buried at federal cemeteries, but state burials bring a $750 charge.
Budget work is expected to come to the forefront in the days to come. The House has been awaiting a revised two-year state budget plan from the governor, with adjustments made to reflect information we recently received in an updated economic forecast. He is scheduled to put out his modified plan this afternoon. The House will come forward with its own proposal in the near future and the Senate is exptected to do the same.
Good luck,
Jeff