Minnesota Lawyer

At Tuesday's gathering of the MNsure Oversight Committee, Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, had a simple question for health exchange officials: "Is it ready?

Milliman-Milwaukee is now the actuary for Minnesota's Medicaid managed care program. The firm has replaced Milliman-Minneapolis as the agency responsible for making sure Minnesota's rate-setting methodology is sound.

U.S. District Court Judge Joan Ericksen has dismissed claims against the state stemming from the actions of a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources employee who improperly accessed data on more than 5,000 individuals.

Blame it on Anne Marie Rasmusson. In 2012, the former St. Paul cop filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking damages for more than 400 instances where law enforcement officials looked up her driver’s license records without justification. That case has resulted in more than $1 million worth of settlements with local governments, including nearly $800,000 from the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted an injunction on Thursday halting implementation of a state law authorizing roughly 12,000 childcare providers that receive state subsidies to seek union representation.

When the state’s health insurance exchange opens for business on Oct. 1, it will be relying on hundreds of nonprofit groups, county workers and insurance brokers to assist individuals and small businesses in obtaining coverage.

State Rep. Steve Drazkowski and 17 other Minnesota residents have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging that public employees repeatedly violated their privacy by wrongly accessing state driving records.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the Green Party of Minnesota to have its minor party status restored. That means donors to the party won't be eligible for the state's political contribution refund program.

MNsure's board of directors voted to add up to $750,000 in additional outreach grants at Wednesday's meeting. The move came in response to an uproar from groups -- primarily in the African American community -- that felt like they were slighted in the first round of $4 million in grants to 30 organizations.

In March, Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson announced that the state was firing the actuarial firm Milliman, which had long been responsible for setting the rates for the state’s $8-billion-per-year Medicaid program.