ARRM's Daily Dispatch

Weekly Legislative Update: Health and Human Service Omnibus Bills Released

This past week both the House and Senate released their Health and Human Service Omnibus Bills; below is an update on the status of ARRM’s key policy priorities.

7% Cut Position in the House and Senate

• The House Health and Human Service Finance Omnibus bill fully funds the 7% cut, as well as provides additional money to ensure that providers are held harmless from a cut until CMS approves the legislative change.
• The Senate Human Services Reform and Finance Omnibus bill delays the cut by one year. The 7% is fully funded until July 1^st, 2019 at that time, providers would receive a 2.3% cut and beginning July 1^st, 2020 providers will receive an additional cut of 3.1% for a total cut of 5.4%.

Eken/Halverson Letter

DFL members Sen. Kent Eken and Rep. Laurie Halverson have authored a letter to Governor Dayton asking him to prioritize funding the 7% cut in his final budget negotiations with the House and Senate. This letter will be circulated within the House and Senate DFL Caucus for additional legislator signatures. Please watch for an Action Alert next Monday, asking you to contact your DFL legislators and ask them to sign on to the Halverson/Eken letter.

ARRM Policy Bill Provisions

Currently, ARRM’s policy bill is on both the House and Senate floor waiting for final passage. In an effort to ensure that the important provisions contained within our legislation do not get held up, our bill has been included in both the House and Senate Omnibus bills.

Next Steps

ARRM, in conjunction with the Best Life Alliance will be sending out an Action Alert early next week with a multi-pronged approach to reach out to your legislators, depending on the political party and the body that they serve in. Please watch for that alert and take immediate action.

Next week we anticipate bills moving through the Finance Committee in the Senate and the Ways and Means Committee in the House. Following passage on the House and Senate floors, Conference Committees will be set up to begin working out the difference between the two bills. ARRM will keep members updated as things continue to move through the process as we work through the final five weeks of session.

Weekly Legislative Update: House Budget Targets Released, Funds 7%

The House Health and Human Service Finance Committee heard testimony on the Best Life Alliance’s legislation to stop the 7% cut this last Tuesday. Chair of the Best Life Alliance, Judy Mader, provided compelling testimony as to the need to STOP THE CUT this legislative session. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the House Health and Human Service Omnibus bill, which we anticipate being released this week.

Additionally, last Thursday the House released their budget targets. Budget targets are what each committee uses when putting together their omnibus bills. Historically, targets for Health and Human Services have been $0 or even a cut, this year however the budget target is $10 million, specifically highlighting using those dollars to fix the potential 7% cut.

It is important to mention that when presenting the budget targets, Rep. Jim Knoblach, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee made note that the reason the 7% fix is included in their target is because of the “high volume of contacts legislators are receiving”—your actions are making a difference!

Looking ahead to this week, both the House and Senate will be releasing their omnibus spending bills. As soon as ARRM has the opportunity to review the bills we will provide and update to members. Following the release of those bills, please watch for ways that you can support ARRM and the Best Life Alliance in ensuring that the 7% fix is made a priority in the final 5 weeks of session.

Please contact me with any questions.

--Sara Grafstrom, Director of Government Relations and Member Advocacy

Legislative Update: Busy Couple Weeks Ahead!

7% Cut Update

The Best Life Alliance legislation to address the 7% cut continues to move through the legislative process. This week, the bill received a formal fiscal note, estimating that the total cost to re-instate the 7% cut will be about $1.9 million for the remainder of this biennium and $53 million in the next biennium. These are significant figures in a non-budget year which further emphasizes the need for strong grassroots pressure to make this a legislative priority.

Key Hearing Next Week

Tuesday, April 10^th, the Best Life Alliance legislation will be heard in the House Health and Human Service Finance Committee. Advocates are encouraged to attend to show their support to STOP THE CUT. Please note, the agenda is very lengthy and there is no guarantee of when exactly the Best Life Alliance Legislation will be heard. You can find more information here.

Final Deadline Fast Approaching

The final committee deadline is just two weeks away on Friday, April 20^th. This means that all bills must be passed out of finance committees. We anticipate seeing omnibus bills released the week of April 16^th and will keep you posted on our position within those bills as soon as we are aware.

Keep up the Good Work

We are hearing from legislators that they are getting a lot of contacts about the 7% cut. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! Now is not the time to let up the pressure. Look for more information from the Best Life Alliance and ARRM in the coming weeks about messaging to your legislators and how you can continue making a difference in Stopping the Cut.

Please contact me with any questions.

--Sara Grafstrom, Director of Member Advocacy and Government Relations