SAINT PAUL, MN – Monday night, The Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Omnibus Health and Human Services Finance Bill on a 70 to 64 vote. The legislation bill reduces overall HHS spending by $150 million during the next two years.
“This is a forward-looking bill that funds the Statewide Health Improvement Program, which will help us control costs,” said Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL—Rochester), Health and Human Services Policy chair. “I also am pleased that we were able to provide raises for long-term care and nursing home workers.”
The bill also provides a three percent cost-of-living increase for nursing home providers and a two percent cost-of-living increase for long-term care providers. It also funds cost-preventing mental health initiatives for children and adults, helps low-income families and children and improves Minnesota’s public health and health care programs.
Included in the Omnibus HHS legislation are several bills authored by Rep. Liebling. This includes a provision (HF 550) that provides a $460,000 grant to the Zumbro Valley Mental Health Center in Rochester for a pilot project to test integrated behavioral health care. This project is expected to reduce costs by providing better health care to patients who use ZVMHC mental health services.
Also, included in the omnibus legislation is Rep. Liebling’s provision encourages hospitals to improve services for stroke victims. Strokes are a growing problem as Minnesota’s population ages. The bill will improve the quality of care available to stroke victims across the state.
The omnibus legislation also includes Rep. Liebling’s provision to support an Olmsted County program to reduce Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Babies with FAS show impacts such as delayed development and problems with thinking, speech, movement, and social skills. They also may suffer from debilitating physical ailments. The program works intensively with at-risk pregnant women to reduce the use of alcohol and drugs during the pregnancy.
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