Dear Friends,
Tomorrow I will be holding a series of Town Hall meetings with Senator Dave Brown. I hope you will consider attending, and I look forward to speaking with you and hearing your questions and opinions about what's going on in Saint Paul.
The schedule is as follows:
8:00AM - Rice
The Old Creamery Cafe
405 Main Street West
Rice, MN 56367
9:45AM - Clearwater
Keith’s Kettle
710 Nelson Drive
Clearwater, MN 55320
11:30AM - Foley
Wild Bill’s Pizza
135 Highway 23 West
Foley, MN 56329
1PM - Duelm
Jack & Jim’s
11025 Duelm Rd NE
Foley, MN 56329
2:45PM - Orrock
KJ’s Refuge
26211 184th St NW,
Big Lake, MN 55309
4:15PM - Becker
Nix Bar and Grill
12287 Hancock St
Becker, MN 55308
February Forecast
Yesterday, we received great news from the Minnesota Management & Budget Office. For the fourth consecutive time, the semi-annual budget forecast showed that revenues from income taxes and other sources exceeded projections. The budget forecast is yet another encouraging sign that Minnesota's economy is on the mend thanks to the sound fiscal restraint shown by the Republican majorities in 2011 and 2012. Under Republican leadership, a $5 billion dollar 2012-2013 deficit turned into a $2.3 billion dollar surplus. The projected 2014-2015 deficit has shrunk from over $4 billion dollars to just $627 million dollars today.
If Republicans can close a $5 billion dollar budget gap without raising taxes, surely Governor Dayton and the DFL can come up with a way to close a $627 million dollar budget gap without resorting to job-killing tax increases and sales tax expansions that will raise taxes on middle-class Minnesotans and force more job-providing industries to relocate to other states.
Health Exchange
I'd like to share with you a column I submitted to local papers about the Health Insurance Exchange bill that we will debate on the House floor on Monday, March 4th.
Last November, voters gave the DFL full control of our state government for the first time in decades. Since then, we've heard repeatedly that 'elections have consequences,' and Minnesotans have begun to get an idea of what exactly one-party control means in the hands of the DFL.
Record-breaking tax increase proposals, attempts at restricting the gun rights of law-abiding citizens, and further increases in the size and scope of government are just a few of the highlights from the first two months of session.
There is one bill that should be of particular concern to Minnesota; the Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) Bill. The Exchange is a part of the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as ObamaCare, and is designed to help uninsured Minnesotans find insurance through a costly and unnecessary state-run exchange. It is a step backward for health insurance in our state. The bill has a number of glaring issues and has been rushed through the committee process at breakneck speed. The bill will come to the House floor for debate & eventual passage this coming Monday, March 4th.
There are three main concerns with the bill that House Republicans have attempted to fix; Choice, cost, and privacy.
As for choice, the HIX seeks to control the entire health insurance market, and would limit your choice of insurance coverage, preventing you from being able to choose your own doctor. It establishes a system where seven politically-appointed board members pick winners and losers as to who can sell insurance plans within the market.
Worse yet, there is ZERO legislative oversight or accountability to the public for the seven-member board. Republicans have offered repeated amendments to the bill that would grant the legislature oversight authority, but those efforts have been blocked on party-line votes by the DFL in committee.
The HIX will also create new taxes on insurance premiums. It will have the power to levy a 3.5% gross premium tax. Rather than lowering costs, the HIX will make health care more expensive and less affordable for citizens. Every exchange premium is taxed at 3.5%, and those costs will ultimately be passed on to non-exchange health insurance customers, raising the cost of health insurance for all Minnesotans.
The most egregious aspect of the bill is the lack of privacy protection. Each and every Minnesotan deserves to have their private medical information protected, no questions asked. In its current form, the HIX is exempt from fundamental data privacy protections. Republicans have offered amendments to restore these data privacy protections, but those efforts were also voted down by the DFL in committee.
The DFL's behavior when it comes to the Health Insurance Exchange has been shocking, and deserves further examination. The process of developing the exchange was shrouded in secrecy, and took place behind closed doors. Power is concentrated with seven unelected bureaucrats. The public and the legislature will have no power to hold the board accountable. It has wasted tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money on website and logo design.
House Republicans will continue to offer common-sense amendments that would make this boondoggle of a bill more palatable to the public. I encourage you to contact your legislators and House DFL leadership and tell them that if they still intend to pass this disastrous bill, they least they should do is protect your privacy and ensure that the HIX board will be accountable to the taxpayers who will be paying their salaries.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Jim Newberger
State Representative, District 15B