Dear Neighbors,
We’re wrapping up the third week of the 2022 legislative session. Here’s an update on some of our work to help address the challenges Minnesotans are facing, including health care and housing costs.
MinnesotaCare Buy-In
Minnesota has a long tradition of valuing health and wellbeing, but people, families, and small businesses face exorbitantly high health care costs that continue to increase, including premiums, deductibles, and prescription drug prices. On Monday, the House Health Committee approved my bill to create a MinnesotaCare Buy-In, which will reduce health care costs for Minnesotans choosing to enroll in the option. During our hearing, we heard about the difficulties farmers, small business owners, and people with major health concerns have in accessing and maintaining affordable coverage.
The legislation will allow individuals and families to access MinnesotaCare – the low-cost, high-quality health care program Minnesotans have trusted for 30 years – by paying their own premiums, but at a much lower cost than plans available on the private market. The bill would make MinnesotaCare available to Minnesotans struggling to afford high deductibles and small businesses who want to contribute to their employees’ coverage. The program will take a couple of years to get up and running, and the bill also includes transitional subsidies to help individuals, families, and small businesses afford quality health care until the Buy-In is operational.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how much we all count on affordable health care. The MinnesotaCare Buy-In will help more Minnesotans access the care they deserve while keeping more money in their pockets.
Supporting Frontline Workers
Throughout the darkest days of the pandemic, many of our frontline workers never had an option to work from home. They kept our state running while putting themselves at a higher COVID-19 exposure, risking the health and wellbeing of themselves and their families.
This week, the House DFL made progress on our efforts to deliver bonus checks for frontline workers. Minnesota has come a long way since the start of this pandemic, and our recovering economy is thanks in large part to the healthcare workers, bus drivers, teachers, janitors, food service workers, and others who have kept our state moving forward. Last year, lawmakers passed $250 million worth of premium pay for frontline workers. Recognizing this amount isn’t adequate to get a meaningful check to everyone who deserves one, this year, we’re proposing a $1 billion investment to ensure these eligible workers get bonuses of up to $1,500, which they’ve certainly earned.
Here’s a helpful fact sheet outlining the investments House DFLers are proposing in frontline workers vs. what Senate Republicans have proposed thus far.
New Investments in Housing
All Minnesotans deserve access to safe and affordable housing. COVID-19’s economic turmoil created a great deal of housing insecurity in Minnesota, and as we work to recover, too many Minnesotans are struggling with high costs of rent and home ownership.
House DFLers this week announced a series of solutions to reduce housing costs for Minnesotans, including action to lower costs for renters, provide pathways to home ownership, build more homes while improving the affordable housing we already have, and provide housing security to more Minnesotans. We’re also working to deliver immediate assistance to reopen RentHelpMN, providing assistance to renters and landlords who are still struggling amidst the pandemic. We have the opportunity to solve our state’s housing crisis with investments across the entire housing continuum so everyone can have a place to call home.
Please continue to stay in touch with your viewpoints, ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance. Thank you for the honor to work as your public servant.
Sincerely,
Jen Schultz
State Representative