Dear Neighbors,
Freeborn County Fair
The Freeborn County Fair has been a great place to spend time this week, and I have been enjoying lots of good food and visiting some wonderful exhibits. I had a fun time chatting with some of the Albert Lea High School robotics team at their exhibit. What a great group of young people who like to exercise their minds in the area of robotics. Front and center in this photo is one of their creations. Hope you have a chance to stop by the Fairlane building to say hi to them and check out their work!
Health and Human Services Legislation Overview
This week, I will share with you some highlights related to health and human services. One of our immediate priorities in this area coming into session was to address the incredibly huge health insurance premium increases that many Minnesotans have been experiencing, and we passed some legislation for that early on. On Monday, we received preliminary rates for the 2018 individual insurance market. Early indications are that this could end the four-year trend of double-digit premium increases. These preliminary rates are a sign we’re headed in the right direction and the reforms we passed are working. Minnesotans deserve more affordable health insurance, and we’re seeing steps toward that goal for the first time in four years.
Here are some other highlights of our health and human services-related provisions we passed this year:
The Emergency Aid and Access Act
- About 90,000 Minnesotans who were experiencing the highest premium increases were eligible to receive a 25 percent rebate off their premiums. We also included important reforms to ensure continued access to doctors for those receiving life-saving treatment.
Foster Care
- I carried a bill, which was included in the final legislation, that will help foster care young people who are between the age of 18-21 years old. Currently, foster individuals who are not wards of the state are cut off from foster care when they turn 18. Like many of our children, some of these young people are not ready to just “jump into the world” on their own at age 18. This bill would allow those young people who need that extra family support and guidance to reenter foster care until the age of 21.
Children with Disabilities
- We funded a 13% reduction in TEFRA parental fees to help relieve the financial burden on families with very sick or disabled children, as well as provided additional support for children’s mental health and for families of children with disabilities.
Caregivers
- We expanded the Home and Community-Based Scholarship/nursing facility educational loan forgiveness program to help recruit and retain quality staff. Home and Community-Based Services is an important area and there is much more work that needs to be done to address the funding inequity they are experiencing. I am looking forward to working on this more next session.
Mental Health
- Mental health reforms and grants to help improve treatment for those struggling with mental health challenges, funding for first psychiatric episode treatment and services, and provided a 1% increase for chemical-dependency treatment services.
Elderly
- We prioritize the safety of our most vulnerable with increased investigations of elder abuse complaints. In addition, we expand scholarships for student loan and training expense reimbursement for nursing facility RNs and LPNs to help recruit and retain quality staff, and also extended the Alzheimer’s Disease Working Group.
Victims of Sex Trafficking and Sexual Abuse
- Increased emergency shelter and transitional housing for sexually exploited youth, and implemented Safe Harbor for All, which is a statewide strategic plan for all victims of sex trafficking.
Opioid Epidemic
- We include additional funding to battle the opioid epidemic, and also include a number of opiate reforms that are aimed at curbing this terrible epidemic.
Capitol Celebration
Next weekend, the state is holding a celebration to commemorate the completion of a four-year restoration of our State Capitol! The updated Capitol is simply breathtaking, and I’m thrilled the state is holding this celebration to let all come and enjoy the beauty. This building is a real treasure for our state. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the renovated Capitol, I encourage you to consider attending the celebration August 11-13; it will be fun for the entire family. For more information on the schedule of events, please click here.
Please Contact Me
If you have any other questions or issues you'd like to discuss, contact me at rep.peggy.bennett@house.mn or call 651-296-8216; I can’t wait to hear from you!
Have a great weekend!
Peggy