House Releases Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill

April 7, 2022

The House Health Finance and Policy Committee, along with the House Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, released their combined omnibus bill on April 6. 

The 456-page bill (HF4706 - Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester) includes several provisions supported by the MMA. In his testimony on April 7 before the Health Finance and Policy Committee, MMA President Randy Rice, MD, thanked the committee for including two of MMA’s legislative priorities in the final bill.  

MMA President Randy Rice testified before the House Health Finance and Policy Committee on April 7.

These priorities include:  

• Language directing the Commissioner of Health to study and develop a recommendation for a statewide registry for patients who have a Provider Order for Life-sustaining Treatment (POLST) form  

• Language to limit the ability of insurers and pharmacy benefit managers from forcing patients to change medications in the middle of their enrollment year because the insurer decides to alter its drug formularies. 

Rice also noted support for portions of the HHS omnibus bill that: 

• Authorize collection of non-claims-based payment information to help gain a better understanding of how healthcare is being paid for in Minnesota 

• Fund new primary care rural residency training grants 

• Improve coverage of tobacco cessation services in the state’s public programs 

• Help ensure patients with chronic pain have access to needed medication. 

The bill also includes other provisions supported by the MMA: 

• Language requiring a health plan to cover additional diagnostic services or testing after a mammogram 

• Language to reduce discrimination in organ transplants based on race or ethnicity 

• Language on student loan forgiveness for physicians and other healthcare workers. 

The joint committee on Health and Human Services is expected to refer the bill to the Ways and Means Committee on April 8, where it will be heard before going to a floor vote. 

The bill will be significantly different from the Senate version. As a result, it will need to go through a conference committee that will work out differences prior to final passage. Whether that will happen before the end of session is unclear at this point.