Capitol Roundup: focusing on health insurance affordability
One of the promises I made during my first campaign was that I would fix MNsure, which was causing double-digit premium spikes every year and brought our individual health insurance market to the brink of collapse.
The solution we came up with was reinsurance. It stabilized the market and helped thousands of Minnesotans afford health care coverage. It was so successful that other states used it as a model.
It was an easy choice to extend Minnesota’s successful reinsurance program for another year. Extending the program ensures insurance rates in the individual market will remain stable, and without any additional cost to the taxpayers.
In his recent budget proposal, Governor Tim Walz did not reauthorize this successful program. That decision risks destabilizing the individual health insurance market, drastic increases in premium costs, and could lose approximately $90 million in federal money if the program expires.
I hope he changes his mind and the House follows our lead and votes to extend the program as well. After all the success reinsurance has had, eliminating it would be a big mistake. As we manage the Covid pandemic, it’s more important than ever that Minnesotans have dependable, affordable insurance.
Here is what else is happening around the capitol.
High-speed internet access for underserved areas
The Senate has been working on a number of bills that provide funding to expand broadband access in underserved and unserved areas of Minnesota through the Border-to-Border Broadband program.
In 2021, it is hard to imagine there are still places that can’t even get high-speed internet access. Unfortunately, that is too often the case in Greater Minnesota, and it caused many of those communities to feel additional pain and hardship during the Covid pandemic. This funding will bring this crucial technology to a lot of families and businesses who desperately need it.
Minnesota’s budget is in much better shape than expected
The latest state revenue forecast projects a surplus of $1.6 billion for the next budget cycle, which begins in July. The surplus is a reversal from the November forecast, which found a $1.27 billion deficit for the upcoming budget cycle.
It is great news that Minnesota has a surplus, but the topline numbers don’t tell the entire story. Minnesota received federal funding related to Covid. That funding held spending down in certain areas, which provided a boost to our budget.
Assistance from the federal government should not steer us off course. First, the pace of budget growth has been unsustainable; we have to be much more responsible with our spending. Second, we have a duty to weed out as much wasteful spending as we can find. Finally, instead of tax hikes we should be discussing targeted tax relief, like my bill to repeal state taxes on Social Security income. Many Minnesotans barely made it through the pandemic, and even more are still struggling. Not taxing social security is a fast and easy way to get money into their pockets. Let’s get these folks some more help.
Contact me
If you ever have any questions or feedback, or if you would like to set up an opportunity to meet, please feel free to contact me any time at 651-296-5612 or sen.mike.goggin@senate.mn. It is a privilege to serve you!