Dear Neighbors,
It’s hard to believe we’re most of the way through March, but Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Be safe this weekend, and have fun celebrating the holiday.
Early this week, we passed a major bill to help our state. The bipartisan legislation we passed is part of our continued effort to fix Minnesota’s broken health care system. This fall, we saw premiums rise upwards of 60% for some Minnesotans, making health insurance unaffordable for most families. Our bill should help mitigate that rise and is estimated to lower premiums by 17-18%. While we’re projected to lower premiums, we also want to help stabilize the individual insurance market. These were two of our main goals this session, and I think this bill is one way of making progress. There are many ideas regarding the health coverage crisis. As we continue to propose legislation and reforms, I want to assure you that we are looking at options to create a stable market. Also, there is no easy fix.
This week I moved 10 bills forward and I'd like to highlight two of them.
In Morrison County we have a group of doctors, nurses, law enforcement and volunteers who have been working on the opioid crisis. This team has effectively reduced the number of pills that are hitting the streets of Morrison County. Their efforts were recognized and passed for consideration into the Health and Human Services budget. I will do a formal shout out to the whole team and individually in the next couple newsletters. But know this idea is moving forward and making a difference.
Next, my bill to get legal counsel for children 10 years and older who are in the child protection system is moving forward. It cleared Public Safety and I hope to have the bill on the House floor soon.
It is Friday and it is St. Patrick's Day. Pick the corn beef or fish; you can't lose either way. Have a great weekend, and stay safe,
Ron