| DFL legislative leaders said the quiet part out loud Wednesday: they’ll need a special session to wrap up a two-year state budget. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and House DFL Caucus Leader Melissa Hortman confirmed to reporters that they expected not to get done by their May 19 adjournment date. “I think at this point it is really difficult to get done and do the work in the way we need to. So yes, I think a special session is very, very likely, if not inevitable,” Murphy said as she went into meetings with fellow leaders and the governor. She said there was a concern about lawmakers and staff getting overworked if they tried to run a marathon set of hearings and floor sessions with days left. Both GOP and DFL leaders said talks continued to be productive but offered few specifics.
One proposal heading into debates about a final budget is a plan to require social media companies to post mental health warning labels to their platforms. The bill picked up bipartisan support in the House and was rolled into the chamber’s health budget bill. The Senate didn't include the provision. Now, members of a conference committee will decide what comes next. Dana reports that supporters say the labels could help young people step away from the platforms , potentially reducing negative mental and physical health impacts. Tech companies, meanwhile, said the move could be a First Amendment violation struck down in court.
Another Democratic governor is calling for a rollback of his state’s health insurance program for people without legal status. California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed limiting access to Medi-Cal , the state’s health insurance program for low-income people, as the state faces a $6.2 billion Medicaid shortfall. Republicans in Minnesota have called on DFL leaders to roll back or eliminate the new MinnesotaCare coverage for people in the country without authorization. Gov. Tim Walz has said he’s open to compromise but wants to ensure that children continue to have access to health care, no matter their legal status. Faith leaders again came to the Capitol yesterday to advocate against eliminating the benefits and said it’s a moral imperative to provide health care to people, no matter their legal status.
The issue was also subject of extensive debate in the Minnesota Senate yesterday as GOP lawmakers sought to amend the Senate Health and Human Services budget bill. Republicans said the cost of the coverage is much higher than originally expected and they brought amendments that would make those without legal status ineligible for MinnesotaCare. Democrats said covering immigrants is the right thing to do and it reduces expenses to hospitals for emergency room care.
Independent pharmacists are celebrating a proposal moving through both chambers that would fix reimbursement rates. MNIndy, a group of independent pharmacists, are urging the Legislature to pass a bill that would increase their reimbursements rates. Pharmacies have been closing in the state at a rapid clip, and pharmacists say that’s in large part due to administrative fees from pharmacy benefit managers. The proposal, which is part of both the House and Senate health finance omnibus bills, would use one pharmacy benefit manager for the entire state.
A group that gained the national spotlight following the murder of George Floyd says it will no longer pay bail for defendants in pretrial detention. Our colleague Matt Sepic reports that the group Minnesota Freedom Fund will focus instead on advocacy work and legislative change. The fund saw tens of millions of dollars in donations following Floyd’s 2020 death when protesters said it would pay bail for those protesting. | 