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Good afternoon,
On Tuesday, the Minnesota House approved another proposal that will help Minnesotans deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Some of the highlights include providing medical assistance to uninsured Minnesotans for COVID-19 testing and treatment; prohibiting health care providers from denying reimbursement of telemedicine services; and giving the health commissioner authority to open temporary health facilities at places such as school gyms or armories.
Plus there's some good news if you're getting married, as registrars can accept marriage licenses by mail, fax or email, so there's no need for an in-person visit.
WHEN WILL WE RETURN TO NORMAL?
As you know, the stay-at-home order has been issued by Governor Walz. As it is an executive order, he is ultimately deciding - with the help of staff and advisers - when we can return to normal.
The latest modeling information provided this week by experts at the Minnesota Department of Health and the University of Minnesota indicates that by protecting the vulnerable and continuing to observe social distancing, we can begin the process of bringing our economy back. If we can avoid three more weeks of economic devastation without an increase in ICU demand or deaths, we should let the data guide our work and have that conversation.
Also on Tuesday House Republicans brought forward a resolution that would have moved the process forward. Our approach aims to keep in place important measures to protect veterans, small businesses, and law enforcement as our response to COVID-19 continues. Simply ending the Governor's Emergency Declaration would have caused significant disruption, which is why we needed to do this in a way that's smart and recognizes that this crisis has not come to an end.
Similar concerns were also expressed by the GOP Rural Caucus in a letter that was recently sent to Governor Walz.
Unfortunately Minnesota House Democrats voted against the proposal.
Take care,
Paul
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