March 28, 2024
On March 22, House and Senate leaders, and Gov. Tim Walz, agreed to overall budget targets that add $477.5 million to the 2024-2025 biennial budget and another $62.7 million for the next fiscal biennium.
These targets set the limits on spending for each finance committee. The target for the Health and Human Services Committee is just under $5 million of the new spending.
The comparatively low health target may hinder some MMA priorities, including prior authorization, which will likely have a fiscal impact larger than $5 million. To pass something this legislative session, bill authors will likely need to consider revisions to lower the cost of their bills to the state.
Budget targets do not detail what will or will not be passed. Instead, they set the framework to outline overall areas of spending. Committees will develop their final budget bills to allocate the target amount on priority issues as identified by chairs and committee members.
Although Minnesota Management and Budget forecasted a $3.7 billion budget surplus in February, state leaders have been reluctant to pass any new large spending measures due to an anticipated structural imbalance in future years.
On March 27, the Legislature started a short Easter break. It will reconvene on April 2 when most of the work will focus on developing and passing the supplemental budget bills. .
July 10, 2025
With the passage of President Trump’s budget bill, many in healthcare are wondering how it will affect the practice of medicine in the United States, and how it will impact the health of Minnesotans.
July 10, 2025
With an overwhelming 90% vote of support, Allina Health physicians, physicians’ assistants, and nurse practitioners voted to authorize a strike if the members of the Doctors Council – SEIU and Allina cannot reach a deal.
July 10, 2025
The Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) Equitable Health Care Task Force is seeking public comment on its draft recommendations for improving health equity across the state.