June 5, 2025
On June 4, the MMA joined other state medical associations in sending a letter to U.S. Senate leaders urging them to reject the devastating cuts to Medicaid included in H.R. 1 that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
This bill cuts $723 billion from Medicaid over the next 10 years, and is projected to cause at least 7.6 million enrollees to lose coverage nationwide.
The MMA sent an Action Alert on June 4 calling on members to contact Sens. Klobuchar and Smith to encourage them to reject the U.S. House cuts. (An earlier version of the alert incorrectly stated that more than 1 million Minnesotans could lose coverage. Actually, an estimated 200,000 Minnesotans are at risk of losing coverage. The incorrect information has been removed from the current version of the alert. The MMA regrets the error.)
One area the savings comes from is limiting the use of provider and managed care taxes, and directed payments currently used by 49 states, including Minnesota, to fund Medicaid. This is an approved funding mechanism that states have used in partnership with the federal government for years.
“If these provider tax cuts are enacted, it will create significant gaps in State budgets, forcing states to raise taxes, or reduce benefits, coverage, and provider payments,” said the letter. “These reductions will lead to even more crowding of emergency departments and as the uncompensated care burdens grow from patients losing coverage, many rural hospitals, nursing homes, and community physician practices will be forced to close to all patients. These closures will create widespread health and economic instability, particularly in rural communities.”
In Minnesota, where Medical Assistance (MA) currently reimburses approximately 30% of commercial reimbursements, there is no room to cut payments to physicians. “This will result in the most vulnerable Minnesotans losing coverage and putting off care,” said MMA President Edwin Bogonko, MD, MBA. “MA is a critical program that provides coverage for children, veterans, seniors and Minnesotans with disabilities. The federal government must maintain its commitment to fund this critical program.”
The goal of Congress is to pass President Trump’s budget bill before July 4, but the outcome in the U.S. Senate is not clear. With only a four-vote margin in the U.S. Senate, Republican leadership is having a hard time finding the votes needed, so there is a good chance that the U.S. House bill will be modified.
July 16, 2025
On July 8, the MMA submitted a formal comment in opposition to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule that would dramatically restrict states’ ability to impose Medicaid provider taxes on insurance companies.
July 16, 2025
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison met with the MMA Board of Trustees at its July 14 meeting and offered to regularly engage with the group to discuss the state’s healthcare issues.
July 16, 2025
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning its registrants of new fraud schemes in which scammers impersonate DEA personnel and notify them that they are under investigation, presumably to obtain personal information.