This week Governor Dayton released his budget – please see Action articles on this topic.

Things are picking up at the Capitol, slowly but surely. This week House and Senate committees spent time reviewing the Governor's budget and debating legislation on Vulnerable Adults, federal health care reform implementation, community health workers, Medicaid Fraud and Community Health Workers. More detail is listed below:

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate File 195 (Limmer), the Vulnerable Adult Justice Project Legislation which is supported by Care Providers of Minnesota. The bill would require perpetrators of a vulnerable adult abuse crime to register under predatory offender registration law in some circumstances and provide increases in vulnerable adult assault criminal penalties.

The House Health and Human Services Finance Committee heard testimony and spent time reviewing the Governor’s Health and Human Services Budget:

• Insurance Exchange Overview, Department of Commerce
• Department of Health Overview of Health Information Exchange, Peer Grouping and Health Economics
• Tele-Health Demonstration, Tennessen Law
• They also spent two days reviewing the Governor’s Health and Human Services Budget

The House Health and Human Services Reform Committee heard testimony and debated legislation:

• Overview of Health Insurance Exchanges
• HF 262 (Mack) – Community Paramedics being added to the list of community health workers
• HF 199 (Gottwalt) – Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act, and
• HF 497 (Gottwalt) – Creating a Health Insurance Exchange in Minnesota

The Senate Health and Human Services Finance Committee heard testimony and debated legislation:

• Public Mental Health Programs, Screening and Grants
• Briefing on the Minnesota Sex Offender Program
• SF 180 (Benson) – Medicaid fraud detection and business intelligence contract request for proposals issuance requirement by DHS
• SF 191 (Scheid) – Small employer health insurance mandatory consideration of offering section 125 plan repeal.
• SF 119 (Rosen) – Community paramedics inclusion on the list of community health workers
• SF 14 (Wiger) – Ramsey county outcome-based personal care assistance pilot program

Heidi Holste
952.851.2482
hholste@careproviders.org

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