Legislative Session Starts; MMA to Focus on 5 Major Issues
February 19, 2026
State lawmakers returned to St. Paul on February 17 for the second half of the 2025-2026 biennium.
MDH Delays Layoffs in Wake of Federal District Court Ruling
April 17, 2025
On April 14, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced that layoffs made public earlier this month would be delayed because of a temporary restraining order issued by a federal district court in Rhode Island in State of Colorado, et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, et al. on April 5.
“We are grateful for this action by the court, which we feel aligns with the federal government’s responsibility to us as a grantee,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Brooke Cunningham, MD, PhD. “This action has given us additional short-term certainty around this funding, which allows us to delay this layoff process slightly.”
Starting April 1, MDH sent layoff and separation notices to approximately 170 employees as a result of the recently terminated federal grants. With the time the temporary restraining order provided, MDH leadership was able to move the effective layoff date to May 13.
These layoffs are a direct consequence of the unexpected action by the federal government to revoke more than $220 million in previously approved federal funding.
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On the second day of the legislative session, MMA leadership was already advocating for one of its top priorities - minimizing the harm of federal changes to Medical Assistance (MA).
MMA Priority Bill on AI and Prior Auth Already Moving at the Capitol
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