St. Paul, Minnesota – The Minnesota House of Representatives approved the Omnibus Health and Human Services bill on Monday by a 70-64 vote. State Representative Mary Sawatzky (DFL – Willmar) voted in favor of the bill. The bill reduces the HHS budget by $150 million over two years through targeted cuts, reforms, and re-prioritization while still protecting the poor and vulnerable.
Despite the $150 million reduction, the bill provides a 3 percent cost-of-living increase for nursing home providers and a 2 percent cost-of-living increase for long-term care providers.
“After a decade of cuts and four years of wage freezes for caregivers, this increased funding is desperately needed and it’s absolutely the right thing to do,” said Rep. Sawatzky. “Our seniors and nursing homes are a vital part of our communities and they deserve our support.”
The House HHS bill achieves cost savings in several ways. It finds $66 million through managed care payment reforms. It makes about $93 million in targeted reductions to existing programs and reforms of services in areas like dental and prescription drugs.
The bill also recognizes savings from budget decisions made in other areas of the budget. For instance, by fully funding All-Day Kindergarten, the state will reduce the number of children on welfare requiring child care.
“The fastest growing part of our state budget is health and human services,” said Rep. Sawatzky. “We have to slow the growth of spending in HHS, make some difficult cuts, and find cost savings. This bill does that while protecting the vulnerable in our state.”
The bill funds cost-preventing mental health initiatives for children and adults, helps low-income families and children and improves Minnesota’s public health and health care programs.
In addition, the bill continues implementation of federal health reform, including a modernizing of MinnesotaCare through the Basic Health Plan, a major opportunity to assert more state-based control over federal health care dollars.
Recognizing that Minnesota hospitals are expected to see a nearly $1 billion increase in funding over the next four years, the bill includes about $100 million in hospital surcharges. The surcharge allows for a strategic modification of hospital funding in Minnesota, including new incentive payments for every hospital that makes it a priority to serve more “safety net” clients. Even after the surcharge is implemented, Minnesota hospitals statewide are expected to see a four-year, $800 million increase in state and federal funds due to the implementation of federal health care reform.
“This bill reflects the right priorities: increasing funding for nursing homes and long-term care workers, and protecting Minnesota seniors, poor and vulnerable,” said Rep. Sawatzky. “I will continue working with my colleagues and advocating for our vulnerable as this bill moves on to conference committee.”
Rep. Sawatzky encourages constituents to contact her with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas on any legislative topic. Rep. Sawatzky can be reached by phone at 651-296-6206 or by email at rep.mary.sawatzky@house.mn. Constituents can also visit Rep. Sawatzky’s AreaVoices blog, legislative page and sign up for email updates.