SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The joint House/Senate Conference Committee tasked with developing a compromise state Health and Human Services budget will meet tonight at 7 p.m. in Room 1200 of the Minnesota Senate Building. The committee will discuss elder care and vulnerable adult provisions, with a focus on a new package of elder abuse protections, around which consensus was recently reached between consumer advocates and industry representatives.
Last week, the House approved HF 90, a bill authored by Rep. Jen Schultz (DFL - Duluth) providing for the licensure of assisted living facilities, the ability for a resident to have a camera in their living space, a prohibition on deceptive marketing practices, and clarification of the rights of residents and their families.
WHAT: Meeting of the House/Senate Conference Committee on the Health and Human Services Budget, HF 2414. Discussion of the Elder Care and Vulnerable Adults Articles.
WHO: Co-chairs Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), Sen. Michelle Benson (R – Ham Lake), committee members
WHERE: Room 1200, Minnesota Senate Building, 95 University Ave W, Saint Paul
WHEN: 7 p.m., Thursday, May 16, 2019
Audio is available of the hearing here.
The House DFL HHS budget would help ensure that all Minnesotans can access the high-quality, affordable health care they deserve. It makes prescription drugs more affordable, ends taxpayer handouts to insurance companies, and expands coverage options and ensures care remains available for low-income Minnesotans. The budget also extends the funding mechanism for the state’s Health Care Access Fund, without which funding for over 1.2 million Minnesotans could be in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, in addition to over $1 billion in harmful cuts – including elimination of funding for the Child Care Assistance Program – the Senate Republican HHS budget relies on shifts, gimmicks, and $470 million in made-up savings that non-partisan fiscal staff cannot verify.