Dear Neighbors,
The House has made a great deal of progress since my most recent legislative update. My colleagues and I finished approving our entire budget last week. Conference committees – which contain members from the House and the Senate – have begun meeting to resolve differences between each House and Senate budget. I’m looking forward to working towards a consensus.
In my last legislative update, I shared information about the House E-12 education budget. This week I’d like to focus on our health and human services budget.
Strengthening Health Care for All Minnesotans
Many community members have told me that health care is a major concern for them. Too many Minnesotans struggle to get the care they need when they need it. Our health and human services (HHS) budget would help all Minnesotans access and afford quality health care. It would lower the cost of prescription drugs, end taxpayer handouts to insurance companies, and expand coverage options by allowing Minnesotans to buy into a plan similar to MinnesotaCare.
I’m particularly pleased that the budget strengthens protections for elders and vulnerable adults who live in assisted living facilities and nursing homes as I’ve been working on this issue for several years. It includes new licensing requirements, clarifies the civil rights of residents, prevents retaliation, and prohibits deceptive marketing practices.
Our budget also protects more than 1.2 million people from losing their health care by extending funding for the Health Care Access Fund and ensures that care remains available for low-income Minnesotans. A fact sheet with more details on the House HHS budget is available here. You can also listen to the latest episode of the Minnesota Values Podcast here.
Meanwhile, the Senate Republican health and human services budget contains over $1 billion in harmful cuts. Many Minnesotans would no longer have access to basic services like dental care. It also cuts services for people with disabilities and child care assistance. If you’d like to learn more, Fox 9 published an article about the Senate budget which is available here.
Support for Argosy Students
Yesterday the House passed legislation to provide support for students of Argosy University, an institution located right here in Eagan. Argosy suddenly closed in March, turning the lives of students upside down. Students who had dedicated thousands of dollars and many hours to their studies were left without anything to show for it. Many of them were just weeks away from graduation and forced to turn down job offers since they’d no longer be graduating on time.
Thanks to the hard work of legislators, the Office of Higher Education, and several higher education institutions, nearly all of these students now have a path to graduation and their future. The bill we passed today goes one step further. The company that owned Argosy took student grant money from the state and held it for themselves. This legislation gives the Office of Higher Education the authority to grant the spring semester funding to the students it was intended for.
Please Share Your Input
Input from community members is very important to me, so I’ve created a short survey so you can provide thoughts on a few important issues. You can complete the survey online here.
Now that negotiations with the Senate have started, your voice is more important than ever! Please share your thoughts with me and other legislators in these crucial last two weeks of the legislative session.
Sincerely,
Sandra Masin
State Representative