April 10, 2025
On April 10, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed its omnibus budget and policy bill (SF 2669 - Wiklund, DFL – Bloomington), which contains several healthcare initiatives of interest to Minnesota physicians and four of the MMA’s top legislative priorities.
The bill includes language from SF 1402 (Wiklund, DFL – Bloomington) that increases Medicaid Assistance (MA) reimbursement rates for outpatient physician services to 100% of Medicare.
Along with coalition members, the MMA has argued that MA payment rates have failed to keep up with the cost of delivering care, causing clinics to make difficult decisions about cutting or limiting services. Without this needed increase, proponents have argued that clinics will close, services will be reduced, and patients in every corner of the state will find it more difficult to access care.
The increase is funded through a managed care organization (MC0) assessment that maximizes available federal matching funds. The way the assessment is structured, MCOs get 99% of the assessment back through increased capitation rates. The new funds also increase MA reimbursement for community mental health providers and emergency medical services.
The omnibus bill also includes SF 1806 (Mann, DFL – Edina), which prohibits insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers from forcing patients to change medications mid-year. These changes lead to delays in care, unexpected increases in medication costs, and overall worse health outcomes, especially for patients with chronic conditions. The legislation permits non-medical switching if the health plan offers a generic drug rated as therapeutically equivalent and is offered at the same or lower cost to the patient. This item comes with a $5 million fiscal impact to the state.
The bill also includes SF 831 (Boldon, DFL – Rochester) which allocates $250,000 in one-time funding for the Treat Yourself First campaign, a multi-disciplinary campaign to reduce the stigma of getting help and encouraging Minesota’s healthcare workforce to get care if they need it.
Lastly, MMA priority included in the bill is SF 2743 (Utke, R – Park Rapids) which extends coverage for audio-only telehealth services. Without legislative action, coverage for these services will expire on July 1 of this year. The bill extends coverage for three more years at a cost of $18.8 million over that period.
Other items in the bill include a new licensure pathway for international medical graduates, language prohibiting healthcare facility fees from being charged to patients, provisions requiring informed consent for sensitive examinations, and the creation of a Healthcare Interpreter Work Group.
One controversial scope of practice provision that is included is an expansion to allow additional expanded prescribing and injection abilities for optometrists., The MMA is working closely with the Minnesota Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons to oppose this expansion.
Another provision the MMA opposes is an increase in the state’s provider tax from 1.8% to 2%. In its letter to the committee, the MMA argued that “the provider tax is one of the most regressive taxes we have and adds to the overall cost of healthcare.” The MMA also argued that the “tax disproportionately burdens smaller practices, making it difficult for them to sustain operations in an already challenging healthcare environment, thereby narrowing patient access to essential medical services, especially in rural and traditionally underserved communities.” The provider tax increase is unlikely to get support in the politically divided House of Representatives. The ominous bill was referred to the Taxes Committee because this is a new provision in the bill.
The final major provision included in the omnibus bill calls for replacing the state’s reinsurance program with a new premium tax credit for Minnesotans in the individual market. This program is funded through a new assessment on health plans.
The House Health Finance and Policy Committee has yet to release its omnibus bill because the shared leadership between the DFL and Republicans has led to difficulty reaching agreement. Their disagreements may cause them to miss the April 11 legislative deadline for committee omnibus 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.