Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Legislative News and Views - Rep. Nels Pierson (R)

Back to profile

Legislative Update (January 18, 2019)

Friday, January 18, 2019

Dear Neighbors,

The first full week of the legislative session is now in the books. It’s good to get back in the swing of things as committees have now started to meet regularly. One of the most important tasks facing the legislature this year is putting together a new two-year state budget, so this will be a big focus in House finance committees. Committee work this week featured informational hearings and overviews of state agencies as we began working on budgets and considering the issues facing each committee.

Before the weekend gets underway, I wanted to give you a quick update on a major topic surrounding healthcare.

Sick Tax Proposal

Earlier this week, I joined my House Republicans colleagues as we urged Governor Walz and Democrats to ditch their plan to reinstate Minnesota’s sick tax. The sick tax is a tax on most patient services in our state, including things like baby deliveries, chemotherapy treatments, routine doctor visits, and emergency room visits. By taxing almost all patient services, the sick tax would raise healthcare costs for Minnesotans by roughly $600 million per year.

Democrats spent the summer and fall talking about lowering healthcare costs, yet a proposal like this one certainly contradicts that message. Instead of reforms to make healthcare more affordable for Minnesotans, they are now proposing increasing taxes on healthcare by $600 million.

In addition, with the $1.5 billion budget surplus that our state currently has, there is no reason to raise taxes. Likewise, at a time when healthcare costs are already too high for many families, we shouldn’t be considering restoring the sick tax, which would hurt Minnesotans with already mounting medical bills.

Simply stated, raising healthcare taxes is the wrong approach to making healthcare more affordable, and I will continue to seek better solutions to this very important issue. This will continue to be a topic of discussion at the legislature so stay tuned for more information on this as the session progresses.

Please Contact Me

If you have any questions or thoughts on any legislative issue, please feel free to contact me. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4378 or by email at rep.nels.pierson@house.mn.

Have a great weekend.

House Image
Nels