Friends and Neighbors,
On Tuesday, the state’s non-partisan Legislative Auditor released the findings from his audit of MNSure. The report concluded that, “MNSure’s failures outweighed its achievements.” The audit was very critical of MNSure, presenting numerous findings of how the program has fallen short since its launch in October of 2013.
Many Minnesotan families are all too aware of MNSure’s shortcomings—the long wait times, technical problems, and families being left in limbo, unaware of whether or not they were properly enrolled. Those anecdotes were substantiated by the auditor’s report. Here are some of the details found within the 181 page report:
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72 percent of MNSure enrollees surveyed said they already had insurance
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MNSure commercial enrollments missed Democrat projections by 88% (49,000 actual enrollments vs. 413,000 promised in 2013)
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58 percent of those surveyed spent at least 4 hours on the enrollment process
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75 percent reported having “significant” technical problems
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In the first 11 months, a third of calls to the call center were dropped
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Only 28 percent of MNSure enrollees were immediately uninsured prior to enrolling
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MNSure cannot easily adapt to “life changes” such as birth of children, marriages, etc.
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Many consumers were not made aware of public programs or tax credits that they may have been eligible for
For better or worse, MNSure is a reality in Minnesota. I am hopeful that the governor and legislature will be able to work together to find a bipartisan solution to the problems facing MNSure. This report proves that the time is now, more than ever, to address these issues.
Governor Pay Raises Addressed
Senate File 174, a deficiency bill that covers unforeseen costs that occurred last year such as the Ebola crisis, passed the floor yesterday. I voted in favor of this bill as it contained amendments that rein in the governor’s authority to unilaterally increase pay for members of his cabinet. Here are some of the details of the amendments included in the bill:
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Restore legislative oversight of executive branch pay raises
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Immediately freeze the cabinet salary increases
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Cut the allocations made to state departments based on the commissioner salary increase
For more details on the bill please don't hesitate to contact me. Overall, I believe that when take-home pay for Minnesota families has remained relatively flat, it is outrageous that the Governor approved such salary increases. I am happy that my colleagues worked on behalf of all Minnesotans to bring back public oversight to commissioner salaries, froze the salary increases that were given, and are making state agencies live within their means.
Rum River Dam
Working with the City of Anoka and some of my colleagues in the House, I am authoring a bill to renovate the Rum River Dam in Anoka. The dam is an iconic landmark in downtown Anoka and it is very important that we are able to maintain it not only for historical purposes, but also for its use as a barrier in preventing aquatic invasive species from infiltrating our waterways.
I am looking forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate as well as the DNR and City of Anoka to see that this project is completed.
Staying Connected
A reminder to attend the Anoka-Hennepin school board meeting on February 23rd at 6:30 pm. The school board will be hearing the third recommendation offered by the Anoka-Hennepin Anti-Bullying Task Force. I believe it is important that members of the community attend this meeting to voice their opinions on the proposals.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions, comments, or concerns on anything related to state government. It would be an honor to discuss your ideas on how we can make Minnesota better for everyone. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-1729 or via email at rep.abigail.whelan@house.mn. You can also stay up-to-date on everything that is happening in St. Paul by visiting my Facebook page and Twitter account.
Thank you and enjoy your weekend,
Abigail