Dear Neighbors,
Health Care Bill
On Monday, the House passed a bill, HF5, to try and stabilize the individual health insurance market and lower premiums for Minnesota families. The legislation creates a reinsurance program to mitigate some of the risk posed by high-risk individuals. It’s estimated to lower premiums by 17-18%, which is a large margin considering how high some premium payments have gotten around the state.
Minnesota used to be a leader in health care choice and affordability and it's time to bring that back. This plan is an important component in health care reform for our state that is aimed at reducing risk and encouraging competition, with the goal of stabilizing and lowering premium rates for Minnesotans. There is still much more work to do in the area of health care, and this is a critical step in moving forward.
Albert Lea Bill
On Wednesday, I presented the bill to bring forth Albert Lea’s request to extend the .5% local option sales tax to the House Property Tax and Local Government Finance Division. This sales tax extension was voted on by the citizens of Albert Lea in a voter referendum last year and passed overwhelmingly with 72%, support. Our lakes are important to us in Albert Lea, and our city is the proud southern gateway to Minnesota.
Water quality is critical to the health of our lakes and our community. I want to thank city manager Chad Adams and Lake’s Foundation President Laura Cunningham for joining me in presenting this bill. They did a wonderful job explaining why this sales tax extension is important for our area. I am happy to say that the bill passed the committee with a unanimous vote!
Friendly Visitors
This week, I saw more folks from our area who stopped by to chat about issues that are important to them. On Wednesday, I met with advocates from REM Woodvale. We discussed funding for Minnesota's Home and Community Based Services, which serve people with intellectual and physical disabilities. Care providers like these, which care for the most vulnerable in our society, are incredibly important. I will continue to advocate for increased funding for these important service providers, and am a co-author of a bill that would do this. We need to get this critically needed funding increase passed this year.
Again, thanks to all who came to St. Paul; your opinion is so helpful! Please contact my office to schedule a time for us to meet.
Enjoy your weekend,
Peggy