SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Wednesday, the House Health and Human Services Committees jointly held a remote hearing to discuss the House DFL’s 2022 Health and Human Services supplemental budget plan. The proposal delivers bold investments to address the high health care costs Minnesotans are facing, along with solutions to attract, recruit, and retain dedicated professionals in fields such as direct care, long-term care, and behavioral health.
“Affordable, quality health care should be an expectation for everyone. Especially with a sizable budget surplus, Minnesotans are counting on lawmakers to help them tackle high costs and eliminate barriers to the care they need,” said Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), chair of the House Health Committee. “Our health budget reduces costs and improves access to health care. It lowers prescription drug prices, supports health care workers and offers opportunity for more Minnesotans from diverse communities to join the health care workforce, and strengthens our public health infrastructure. As we work to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the investments in this bill will improve the health of Minnesotans while reducing their costs.”
“We’ve heard from people with loved ones in nursing homes, in group homes, and in other settings where they rely on dedicated staff every day. We have a workforce crisis, and Minnesotans are worried about whether their family members can continue to get the services they expect and deserve,” said Rep. Jen Schultz (DFL – Duluth), chair of the House Human Services Committee. “House DFLers are coming forward with the investments necessary to support seniors, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable Minnesotans in their communities. We’re also addressing several determinants of health, including homelessness, food security, and deep poverty. Along with measures to reduce costs, including the MinnesotaCare Buy-In proposal, this budget is a cutting-edge package of solutions to help Minnesotans experience a better future.”
To expand affordable health care access, the budget includes the MinnesotaCare Buy-In, an option allowing individuals and families to access MinnesotaCare – the low-cost, high-quality health care program that Minnesotans have trusted for 30 years. The legislation also makes care less expensive by eliminating cost-barriers for those enrolled in Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare. To prepare Minnesota for the future, the bill studies ways to reform health care delivery and financing.
House DFLers are working to reduce the price of prescription drugs with creation of a commission to review and stop unjustified price increases and a prohibition on price gouging. The legislation also includes caps on co-pays for insulin and other life-saving drugs, promotes use of “biosimilars” to bring down the cost of expensive biologic drugs, and prohibits mid-year formulary changes.
To strengthen services for people with disabilities, the budget includes ongoing rate increases for the Personal Care Assistance and Community First Services and Supports programs. The budget also rebuilds Minnesota’s health care workforce through measures such as the Workforce Incentive Fund covering retention payments, post-secondary costs, transportation, and child care costs. There is a combination of strategies to support the behavioral health workforce, mental health workers, and community health workers, including grants, scholarships, and technical assistance. The legislation supports caring professionals through additional funding in the elderly waiver framework, and investments in training direct care workers through the creation of the Direct Care Service Corps.
The bill diversifies the health care workforce and includes several other steps aimed at achieving equity. The bill allows MinnesotaCare to cover undocumented children, includes funding to eliminate lead in schools, child care centers, and homes, funding to raise awareness about mercury in skin lightening creams, and support for Tribal health care providers.
To better understand the impact of “long COVID,” the bill includes investments to raise awareness, develop guidance for its diagnosis, treatment, and care coordination in partnership with long COVID survivors and communities disproportionately impacted by it. Sustainable, increased funding is dedicated to rebuild state and local public health infrastructure along with additional funding for the state Public Health Emergency Response Account.
To help Minnesotans experiencing deep poverty, the bill includes the first increase in general assistance since 1986 and helps more Minnesotans qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill also delivers food support grants and improved access to food security programs within Tribal communities and community resource hubs to better connect families to services and supports. The bill improves access to Medical Assistance for people with disabilities by fixing the discriminatory “spend-down” limit.
Several investments are included in the bill to strengthen housing security, including funding for emergency shelter facilities and emergency services, the Homeless Youth Act, Safe Harbor for sexually exploited youth, and transitional housing.
In total, the proposal delivers $700 million of new investments in the current biennium, with another $1.2 billion in the next budget cycle. A spreadsheet of the investments is available here.
Video of the hearing is available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel. The Human Services Committee is scheduled to meet today at 10:30 a.m. to discuss its portion of the package, and the Health Committee will meet at 1 p.m.