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. .
May 29, 2025
As the Legislature works to complete its work on the state’s two-year budget, another deadline is looming. Legislators are required to pass a balanced budget before the end of the fiscal year—June 30, 2025. If they don’t meet that deadline, the state will begin a partial shutdown.
May 29, 2025
Registration has opened for the Empowering Physicians: A Night of Reflection and Engagement event, featuring best-selling author Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD.
May 29, 2025
The AMA is encouraging physicians to contact their U.S. senators and urge them to revise the reconciliation bill passed recently by the U.S. House of Representatives. While the bill includes language that would stabilize Medicare physician payments, it also threatens to cripple Medicaid and CHIP.