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Drop in Minnesota’s budget deficit won’t resolve legislative tensions
On Monday morning Gov. Mark Dayton and the GOP-controlled Legislature received an unexpected $1.2 billion gift. The announcement that the state's historic budget deficit had shrunk by nearly 20 percent was welcome news to all sides.
One-time budget fixes still popular at Capitol
Republicans originally planned to make their first round of cuts stick. As introduced, their $1 billion budget cutting bill made permanent reductions to programs like local government aid (LGA), health and human services and higher education that had been temporarily cut as part of the state's 2010 budget agreement. But in the first House committee hearing on the proposal, an amendment brought by [...]
HMO reform turns into a bandwagon
On Feb. 8, health care providers, lobbyists and other interested parties packed a meeting of the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee to overflowing. The occasion was an informational hearing on the seemingly mundane topic of health maintenance organization accountability, and the chief reason for the standing-room-only crowd was the appearance of Dave Feinwachs, the former Minnesota [...]
Nursing homes would take big hit in Dayton budget
Randy Hagemeyer has run the Birchwood Care Home in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis for more than two decades. During that time, the 60-bed nursing home for individuals with chronic mental and physical health problems has averaged 98 percent capacity.
HHS and LGA funding choices draw mixed reaction
Republican leaders' response to Gov. Mark Dayton's budget proposal was no surprise. On Tuesday afternoon they savaged the plan, which aims to solve the $6.2 billion budget deficit in large part through new taxes projected to raise $4.1 billion. The legislative leaders say his budget proposal would give Minnesota the highest state income tax bracket in the country and drive businesses away.
Senate approves ‘Phase One’ budget cuts, alt-licensure
On Monday morning Gov. Mark Dayton and the GOP-controlled Legislature received an unexpected $1.2 billion gift. The announcement that the state’s historic budget deficit had shrunk by nearly 20 percent was welcome news to all sides. Dayton immediately announced that he was withdrawing a proposal to impose a 3 percent surcharge on incomes over $500,000 ...
Picking the lock on HMOs’ ‘black box’
As HMOs seek a bigger share of Minnesota's health care business, former Minnesota Hospital Association attorney Dave Feinwachs leads a charge to see how they are spending the money
Cuts bill exposes GOP divisions
When it came time to vote on the first $1 billion budget cutting bill from Republican leadership in the Ways and Means Committee, it was no surprise that all the DFL members voted against it. They say the bill, which proposes to extend one-time cuts to local government aid, human services and higher education that were part of a budget deal last session, has been rushed through the committee proce[...]
Abeler’s government shutdown inquiry rankles DFLers
DFL Rep. Erin Murphy sent out a statement criticizing the move less than an hour before the committee was scheduled to meet.
Jesson to lead DHS through perilous budgetary times
Gov. Mark Dayton has picked Lucinda Jesson to be the next commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Jesson, a Hamline University law professor, will oversee an agency that is likely to be at the epicenter of the battle to close the state's $6.2 billion deficit.
Abeler: MA expansion’s cost ‘a wash’ for state
In an interview with the St. Cloud Times, the Anoka Republican rebuked MMB's budget math on the proposed Medical Assistance expansion.
Old battle lines resurface over federal Medicaid expansion
With Mark Dayton's timely ascent to the governor's office now assured, the most visible and protracted legislative drama of 2010 has erupted again in the past week. Dayton said throughout the campaign that one of his first acts as governor would be to sign an executive order enrolling Minnesota in an expanded federal Medicaid program.
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