Chaudhary's primary loss made him the body's fifth departing chair

Session 2010's tempest over whether to take a federal deal that would have jump-started Minnesota's entry to a new federal Medicaid expansion hasn't subsided. It simply followed legislators out the doors of the Capitol and onto the campaign trail.

Hennepin County commissioners unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday rejecting a proposed state contract that would have cleared the way for Hennepin County Medical Center to participate in a revamped General Assistance Medical Care program. Commissioners expressed concerns that the hospital would become a statewide safety net for indigent patients and that the economic stability of the facility would be put at risk.

As the 86th Minnesota Legislature commences its last lap, most members think the session is likelier to end with a whimper than a bang. Barring the unexpected — the undoing of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s $2.7 billion in unallotments by the Minnesota Supreme Court, or a holdup in the federal passage of additional FMAP health care dollars — all that’s really left is the resolution of another $155 million in health and human services cuts. But there's a House DFL leadership contest lurking behind the gubernatorial race to which everyone is now turning their attention.

This much is known for certain about the federal health care bill that President Barack Obama signed into law last Tuesday: It will have profound ramifications for Minnesota’s budget both in the current biennium and in future years.

The 2,400 page federal health care bill will likely take state budget officials months to parse thoroughly. Nobody knows at this point exactly how much money will will ultimately trickle down to Minnesota's coffers. But it seems highly likely that additional potential revenue streams will be discovered as the legislation is reviewed.

Legislators who have spent the last nine months trying to find a way to pay for health care for Minnesota's poorest and sickest residents joined Gov. Tim Pawlenty this afternoon to announce that they had reached a compromise on replacing the soon-to-be-defunct General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program.

After two hours-plus of floor debate this afternoon, House Democrats failed to peel off a single Republican vote to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of General Assistance Medical Care legislation. House DFLers came up three votes shy of the two-thirds majority required to enact the bill without Pawlenty's signature.

Key legislators met Thursday night with Gov. Tim Pawlenty's point people on health care and budget matters in closed-door talks on the general assistance medical care (GAMC) proposal.

The word is that last night's meeting between Gov. Tim Pawlenty and two key DFL legislators -- Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, and Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul -- about reaching a compromise agreement on a bill to extend the life of the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program lasted almost two hours and produced the framework of a proposal from the governor's office.