Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) have introduced bills to suspend a proposed federal Medicaid rule that would reduce funding for the state’s MinnesotaCare program and that potentially could cut up to 18,000 low- and middle-income beneficiaries from the program, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. The rule, which was scheduled to [...]
Spending by private health plans in Minnesota increased by 4.3% from 2006 to 2007, the lowest growth rate since 1997, according to a report released Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Health, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. According to Julie Sonier, director of the department’s health economics program, “It is possible” that part of [...]
HHS has granted Minnesota a waiver to allow the state to continue providing SCHIP coverage for some parents through June 2011, according to Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), the AP/St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
The Bush administration has opposed the use of SCHIP funds for adults, but under the waiver the state will use SCHIP funds [...]
Private health insurance premiums in Minnesota grew by 7.2 percent per enrollee in 2006, up from 4.5 percent in 2005, according to a new report by the Health Economics Program at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Growth in health plans ,, expenses per enrollee increased from 7.2 percent in 2005 to [...]
Hispanic advocates and legislators inMinnesota have come across an %26quot;obscure state law%26quot; that requires certainemployers to provide health insurance to migrant workers, but the lawnever has been enforced, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
In1971, the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers with fiveor more migrant workers to provide them with health insurance. However,no rules have [...]
Newrestrictions by Minnesotainsurance companies on the use of high-tech imaging procedures have reduced thenumber of scans performed in the state, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. According to the PioneerPress, health care officials %26quot;dispute whether the restrictions havehealed or harmed the medical system,%26quot; and physicians claim that%26quot;their time is wasted and their costs increased when [...]
The Minnesota Council of Health Plans is launching a $438,000 outreach initiative to identify and enroll residents who are eligible for state programs including MinnesotaCare, Prepaid Medical Assistance and General Assistance Medical Care. The initiative includes grants to fund outreach work in 34 counties. It also provides a web-based screening, application and case management tool.
The [...]
After rising between 2001 and 2004, the percentage of Minnesotans without health insurance was stable between 2004 and 2007, according to the results of a new survey by the Minnesota Department of Health and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. An estimated 7.2 percent of Minnesotans, or about 374,000 people, were uninsured in [...]
A Minnesota task force onTuesday recommended that the state require all residents to obtain healthcoverage and that the state use savings from reducing inefficiencies andinsurers’ administrative costs to extend health coverage to the uninsured, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. The task force, which wasappointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), also recommended paying physicians based [...]
Minnesota lawmakers this week are expected toapprove legislation that is expected to reduce health care spending in thestate by 20% by 2015 and extend coverage to an additional 47,000 residents, butthe bill could face a veto by Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), the Minneapolis StarTribunereports.
The plan would cost about $49 million in 2009. Long-term savings [...]