 Rep. Robert Bierman, co-chair of the House Health Finance and Policy Committee, introduces an amendment to the omnibus health and children and families finance bill May 12 on the House Floor. (Photo by Michele Jokinen)
An interesting bill with an interesting timeline is the description Rep. Danny Nadeau (R-Rogers) used for the omnibus health and children and families bill.
Bypassing one committee of jurisdiction, hitting the House Floor in the final week and funding a new government department, the bill would appropriate more than $3 billion in the 2026-27 biennium for payments to hospitals, public health initiatives, child care providers and other programs.
Sponsored by Rep. Robert Bierman (DFL-Apple Valley), the House passed HF2435, which, as amended, would provide funding for the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Following Monday's 95-38 vote, the bill next goes to the Senate.
Bierman said the bill would deliver better access and meet some of the state’s most pressing needs. He noted several provisions, including ones that would extend audio telehealth programs, offer dispensing fees to some pharmacies, help graduates of foreign medical schools practice in the state and provide additional resources to battle opioid overdoses.
Rep. Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley), who co-chairs the House Health Finance and Policy Committee with Bierman, said the proposal focuses on programs that work while avoiding tax and fee increases.
While supporting the bill, Nadeau nonetheless noted what he found lacking: no funding for MinnesotaCare, no plan for what may be coming with regard to potential Medicaid cuts from the federal government, and no recognition of a response to a health care system that has an significant percentage of the population enrolled in a public program. Read more
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