Legislature Reconvenes Monday; MMA to Focus on 5 Priorities

February 8, 2024

The MMA will be focused on five legislative priorities this session as lawmakers head back to St. Paul on February 12 for the second half of the biennial session.  

2024 is a non-budget year or “short” session, which typically focuses more on policy and bonding proposals than fiscal legislation. The upcoming session will also be about a month shorter than sessions in odd-numbered years. The legislature must adjourn no later than May 20. 

There will still likely be a supplemental budget proposal. While the state has a $2.4 billion budget surplus, any additional spending will be limited because of projections of future state shortfalls. 

The House maintains a small democratic majority, resulting in Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) remaining as Speaker of the House. The Senate DFL still has a one-vote majority. Their caucus selected Sen. Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) as the new Majority Leader on February 6 after Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL- Minneapolis) announced last week that she is stepping away from her role due to health reasons. 

"Minnesota could not have asked for a better, more effective leader in the Minnesota Senate. Her kind, thoughtful and wise leadership brought the Senate through the most productive legislative session in 50 years,” Hortman said in a statement of Dziedzic’s leadership in 2023.   

Ahead of the 2024 legislative session, the MMA Board of Trustees adopted five legislative priorities. These include: 

• Prohibiting the use of prior authorization for services where delays could lead to serious negative health outcomes. This includes eliminating prior authorization for mental health treatment, substance-use disorder treatment, outpatient cancer treatment, and preventive services, among others. 

• Limiting mid-year formulary changes for prescription drugs by ensuring that patients can't be forced to change medications until the end of their health insurance contract. 

• Promoting physician wellness services by prohibiting credentialing forms from asking applicants about past health issues; providing protections for use of SafeHaven, MMA’s new confidential, physician wellness program; implementing a recognition system for systems that prioritize healthcare worker wellbeing; and funding a public awareness campaign to encourage physicians to seek care. 

• Implement and fund an electronic registry for POLST (Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) forms. 

• Address substance use morbidity and mortality through harm reduction strategies. 

Physicians will have an opportunity to learn more about the MMA’s legislative priorities at Physicians’ Day at the Capitol on February 28. Participants will also have a chance to meet with their legislators that afternoon. 

Learn more and register for Physicians’ Day at the Capitol here.