Even though you likely received an Alert from ARRM yesterday, we are re-posting that information here to ensure you get this critical update. To recap: Monday afternoon, the governor announced that in the event of a government shutdown, payments to ARRM members under Medical Assistance, GRH and MSA (shelter needy) would continue. Obviously, this is a position ARRM endorses and appreciates.
A link to that announcement is here: http://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/pressreleasedetail.jsp?id=102-13681
What will happen now?
Yesterday, our attorneys from Halleland Habicht filed an amicus brief with Ramsey County District Court on behalf of ARRM, MnDACA and MHC. The brief makes a case that in the event of a government shutdown, the services ARRM members provide are essential and therefore your payments must continue. The matter will be before Ramsey County District Court Judge Kathleen Gearin this Thursday. Her ruling is expected to come within hours or very few days after the hearing.
At the same time, four Republican senators are asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to prevent a district judge from intervening in a budget impasse, which would presumably result in a different shutdown scenario than those proposed by Gov. Mark Dayton and Attorney General Lori Swanson. According to the Star Tribune, the GOP brief states that "only funding required by the state's constitution, federal mandates or statue should continue." Because the senators’ brief is unclear whether "federal mandates" should include services funded by Medicaid, we are exploring the option of filing a brief in federal court to restrain the Minnesota Supreme from terminating Medicaid payments to ARRM members. It’s possible that a supreme court ruling in favor of the GOP plaintiffs would necessitate a special session to pass a “lights on only” bill.
We believe that with the governor and attorney general now in agreement, the precedents set in 2005 and 2001 will guide the courts this year. During those shutdowns, disability services were considered essential, and payments to providers continued to flow as legislators hammered out the final budget.
No one knows when Gov. Dayton will call a special session. It could be a long time until he and legislative leaders agree to a budget compromise. That’s why it’s so important to get a positive ruling in the courts and to maintain our/your advocacy with legislators. To keep disability services a top priority, we encourage you to contact your legislators and sell them on the concept that our services are indeed valuable and should be adequately funded. Your work up to this point has made a huge impact, and we urge you to soldier on despite this unusually long session.
--Barb Brynstad, Communications Director, and Bruce Nelson, CEO