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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Jennifer Schultz (DFL)

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Legislative Update - January 11, 2017

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Dear Neighbors,

I’m pleased to be back at the State Capitol for the 2017 Legislative Session, which got underway last Tuesday. It’s an honor to represent the citizens of Duluth in St. Paul and to work on improving the lives of Minnesotans and their families.

This session, I will be serving on the following House committees: Health and Human Services Finance, Higher Education and Career Readiness Finance, and Taxes. I’m confident I'll be able to make meaningful contributions in these subject areas. I’ve been working hard to make improvements to both the health care delivery system and how it’s financed, so I’m excited to join the Health and Human Services Finance Committee. In my work as a professor of economics at UMD and experience on the U of M Budget Committee, I’ve become very familiar with the consequences of high tuition and student debt, so I look forward to joining Higher Ed. Finally, serving on the Taxes Committee will give me an opportunity to advocate for adequate Local Government Aid for Duluth and I’ll work to ensure state taxes remain fair, and without unnecessary giveaways to the very wealthy or corporate special interests. Additionally, I’ll serve on the Health Care Finance Task Force, the MNsure Legislative Oversight Committee, Great Lakes Commission, and Legislative Commission on Data Practices.

The most immediate priority this session is to provide relief for the approximately 125,000 Minnesotans who purchase health insurance on the individual market. These folks – who aren’t provided coverage by an employer, or don’t receive it from a public plan – are experiencing premium increases in the neighborhood of 60 percent. Such massive increases are NOT acceptable.

This past fall, Governor Dayton unveiled a plan to provide a 25 percent rebate on insurance premiums purchased on the individual market, and we thought we had bipartisan agreement for a special session to get it done. Politics got in the way, however, and this didn’t happen, leaving it for the regular session. Personally, I was hopeful we could have come together on a bipartisan basis to deliver this relief last week, but the House GOP majority chose to attach to the premium relief bill reckless and risky changes to our health insurance system without public input. One change would allow for-profit health insurance companies to operate in the state of Minnesota for the first time in many decades.

Rushing through such significant changes without public input or full comprehension of the potential consequences is the wrong approach. To be sure, we should consider reforms to both our health insurance system as well as our health care delivery system. One such possibility is to offer Minnesotans a public option with direct contracting with provider groups (bypassing health plans). This could take the form of allowing individuals to buy into MinnesotaCare, a successful program currently utilized by working Minnesotans who fall under a certain income cap. Alternatively, we could allow Minnesotans to enroll into SEGIP, the insurance plan for state employees. Large pools of enrollees can lead to lower premiums, so these options should be explored.

Long term policy changes cannot get in the way of providing premium relief now. Enrollment deadlines and insurance bills are arriving soon, and Minnesotans are counting on us to take action. Legislators of both parties recognize the problem, and we’ve identified a way to provide immediate help. I hope we can pass a bill doing so very soon.

TOWN HALL MEETING

Sen. Erik Simonson, Rep. Liz Olson and I would like to invite you to a Town Hall Meeting on Saturday, February 18th at 10:00 a.m. at the Duluth Children’s Museum. This will be a great opportunity for us to take questions about the progress of the legislative session, as well as to gain valuable insight into your own viewpoints and priorities. The event will be free and open to the public and media. I hope you can make plans to join us.

WHAT: SD7 Town Hall Meeting

WHO: Rep. Jennifer Schultz, Rep. Liz Olson, Sen. Erik Simonson

WHERE: Duluth Children’s Museum, 115 S 29th Ave W, Duluth, MN 55806

WHEN: Saturday, February 18th at 10:00 a.m – noon (one hour for public comment/testimony)

I encourage you to stay in touch with me throughout the session as we work to consider solutions to these and other issues facing our state. Please don’t hesitate to call me at the Capitol at 651-296-2228 or send me an email any time with your ideas, feedback, and questions. I value your input, and it’s an honor to represent you.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Schultz

State Representative