Dear Neighbors,
The legislative session is now more than half over. The first committee deadline passed last Friday and we’ll be busy in committee as the final two deadlines approach the next two Fridays. Then we’ll shift to longer floor sessions to pass our two year state budget.
Committee Deadlines
Last week we wrapped up the first committee deadline, and we’re already into our second deadline week. Deadlines are very important to the legislative process, but deadline weeks can look like a flurry of legislative activity to those outside the Capitol. To help folks better understand the process, our great nonpartisan House Public Information department put together a video explaining the process. You can watch here:
Reinsurance
On Monday, the House passed a Republican reinsurance plan that will favor insurance companies over the health of Minnesotans. HF 5 creates a program to subsidize insurance companies at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The program would be funded by the Health Care Access Fund, which currently funds MinnesotaCare. Using this source of funds for an ongoing and increasing bailout could put MinnesotaCare’s funding in jeopardy. The author even said he doesn’t know the impact of his bill, meaning a nearly $400 million giveaway over the next two years has no guarantee it will reduce premiums, stabilize the market, or increase access for Minnesotans.
House Democrats have proposed two other options to provide health care coverage to a greater number of Minnesotans at a lower cost. One (HF 92) would be a public option to ‘buy-in’ to MinnesotaCare at no cost to taxpayers. The other (HF 358) is the Minnesota Health Plan which would be a universal, single payer plan.
Constituent Meetings
This week I met with a group of constituents supporting the“Best Life Alliance” bill, which increases wages for Direct Support Professionals who provide critical care to individuals with disabilities living in the community. It’s always a pleasure when community members visit to lobby me on the issues they care about.
Let me know what you think!
Please feel free to weigh in on by answering my 2017 Legislative Survey.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Sheldon
P.S.: Please don’t hesitate to forward this email to your friends and neighbors so they can sign up for my e-updates.