Supplemental budget in early April
By Lauren Radomski
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The House Health Care and Human Services Finance Division will wait until early April to release its supplemental budget bill.
Cuts in the bill will be significantly less than originally expected, Division Chairman Rep. Thomas Huntley (DFL-Duluth) said. Policymakers anticipated upwards of $300 million in cuts earlier in the session; the current projection is $154 million.
“My guess is that it will get somewhat better,” Huntley said. He believes the figure could fall to around $100 million by the time division members are scheduled to discuss the proposal April 6.
The $154 million projection assumes Congress will extend a temporary increase in the federal government’s share of state Medicaid expenses. Minnesota is expected to see an influx of $408 million should the extension pass. The budget target also reflects reduced costs associated with General Assistance Medical Care.
Another major factor in the budget planning process is the passage of federal health care reform. Beginning April 1, states will have the ability to expand Medicaid eligibility with financial help from the federal government. That would mean major changes for Medical Assistance, Minnesota’s Medicaid program.
“Instead of a state-funded program where there’s no federal rules or criteria, now we’re subject to all of the Medicaid rules and criteria, and there are a lot,” Department of Human Services Assistant Commissioner Brian Osberg told the House Health Care and Human Services Finance Division March 24. He is waiting on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to detail the eligibility criteria and benefits package associated with the Medicaid expansion.
Some legislators are eager to see the federal changes implemented in Minnesota. Huntley sponsors
HF3713, which would expand Medicaid coverage to childless adults under 75 percent of federal poverty guidelines beginning April 1. The division took no action on the bill, whose companion,
SF3310, sponsored by Sen. Linda Berglin (DFL-Mpls), awaits action by the Senate House and Human Services Budget Division.
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