Political Notebook

Lawmakers get back to work

With the ceremonial first day behind them, Democrats are moving ahead with their legislative agenda. At 1 p.m., House Speaker Paul Thissen, House Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and Assistant Majority Leader Katie Sieben will outline the majority party's vision for the 2013 session.

Later in the afternoon, Democrats will unveil a bipartisan bill to set up a health insurance exchange in Minnesota. The exchange will be an online marketplace where Minnesotans will be able to shop for and compare health insurance plans. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, gives states the option of setting up their own exchange or one set up by the federal government. The effort got little support from Republican lawmakers last session who opposed the federal health care bill.

The bill's sponsors, Rep. Joe Atkins of Inver Grove Heights and Sen. Tony Lourey of Kerrick, will discuss the legislation. They will be joined by Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter, Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman, Administrative Commissioner Spencer Cronk, Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson and other state lawmakers.

This year's bill will have at least two Republican co-sponsors — Rep. Greg Davids of Preston and Rep. Jim Abeler of Anoka. Davids said he prefers having a state-run exchange versus one run by the federal government.

"If I have a problem, I would rather call 651 than 202," Davids said.

 

Quist calls for immediate audit of state's Medicaid program

1st District Republican congressional candidate Allen Quist is calling on DFL Gov. Mark Dayton to order an immediate audit of the state's Medicaid program. Quist cited a recent U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report that that blasts Minnesota's oversight of its Medicaid program.

"If this report is accurate, then widespread Medicaid fraud is occurring in Minnesota and it may be in the neighborhood of $1 billion a year that is being wasted," he said.

Joining Quist at a Capitol press conference was David Feinwachs, former counsel for the Minnesota Hospital Association who said he lost his job because he raised questions about how Minnesota was using federal Medicaid dollars. He testified at a congressional hearing last month about Medicaid fraud. He accused the state of using an accounting trick to bring in more federal Medicaid dollars and then using those dollars for other programs.

"This is completely unacceptible and as taxpayers we should be outraged," he said.

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley has launched a federal investigation into Medicaid fraud in Minnesota and across the country. Minnesota's program came to Grassley's attention after the state announced UCare was donating $30 million to the state. The federal government argued it was a reimbursements for Medicaid overpayments and that it should get half of the money. The state ended up agreeing to send half the money to the federal government. Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson has said the problems with the state's Medicaid program stem from contracts with HMOs that were signed during Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration. The department issued the following statement in response to Quist's criticism:

"The Minnesota Department of Human Services welcomes examination of its managed care contracting. DHS supported the recently passed HMO audit legislation as well as the financial audits of the plans currently underway that were ordered by Governor Dayton last year."

Quist said the recent legislation that delays an audit of the state's Medicaid program for two and a half years is simply unacceptable. The St. Peter Republican is running against Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, in the August primary for the chance to take on DFL 1st District Rep. Tim Walz. Quist said there are estimates that addressing Medicaid fraud nationwide could save $100 billion. He said that would go a long way towards trying to solve the nation's ballooning budget deficit.

Click here to  Download Medicaid fraud report

Mayo Clinic not part of GOP health care task force

The Republican Party of Minnesota announced this week it was establishing a health care task force charged with developing and recommending legislation aimed at improving access to affordable high quality health care. Notably absent is a representative from Mayo Clinic.

The clinic has established a Health Policy Center focused on the issue of reforming health care. In particular, the clinic has pushed for the need to reform the payment system to make sure that providers are paid based on quality — not quantity — of care.

John Tyler, of Boys and Tyler Financial Group, Inc., is chairing the Republican task force. Other members include party chairman Tony Sutton and Dr. Ken Heithoff. No Rochester area lawmakers are on the task force, although party spokeswoman Heather Rubash said any Republican legislator is welcome to attend a meeting. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton recently announced he had established the Minnesota Health Care Reform Task Force. Dr. Doug Wood, a professor at Mayo Clinic, is on the task force.

Below is a list of the individuals participating in the task force meetings.

Annette Meeks, President Minnesota Freedom foundation
Bob Geist, MD Retired Physician, Minnesota Physicians and Patient Association (MPPA)
Chris Schneeman, Owner Seven Hills Benefit Partners
Craig J. Westover, Communications Director MNGOP, MPPA
Sen. David Hann
Greg Dattilo, CEO Dattilo Consulting, Inc., and ClientServ, LLC
Rep. Jenifer Loon;
Joe Thomas, bswift
Lee Beecher, MD, President MPPA
Lorrie Fehling, Freedom Services Inc. Benefits Administration
Margaret LeClair, Margaret LeClair, Ph.D., President LeClair Insurance
Peter Nelson, Center for the American Experiment, MPPA
Ray Haugland, President and CEO Freedom Services Inc
Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen,
Senator Chris Gerlach,
Rep. Steve Gottwalt,
Tim Wilkin, Capitol Strategies Inc.
Tom Aslesen, Owner Accord Benefit Resources Inc.
Rep. Kathy Lohmer

Area Republicans sign court brief challeging constitutionality of health care law

Several area Republicans joined fellow GOP state lawmakers in signing a "friend of the court" brief challenging the constitutionality of the new federal health care law.

A total of 80 GOP lawmakers signed the brief, including House and Senate GOP leaders. Also signing the brief are North Carolina legislative leaders. The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 11th District. This comes after Florida Judge Roger Vinson recently struck down the entire health care law. Vinson concluded that Congress exceeded its authority when it passed the individual mandate requiring all citizens to have health care coverage.

Local GOP lawmakers who signed onto the brief are Rep. Mike Benson of Rochester, Rep. Greg Davids of Preston; Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa, Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing, Rep. Rich Murray of Albert Lea and Rep. Duane Quam of Byron. Those who did not sign on are Sen. Carla Nelson of Rochester, Sen. Dave Senjem of Rochester, Sen. John Howe of Red Wing and Sen. Jeremy Miller of Winona.

The brief argrees with Vinson arguing that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. It also argues that the law's "ambiguity prevents states from making a clear and informed choice, requiring North Carolina and Minnesota to subject themselves to unknowable and potentially crippling obligations in order to continue their participation in the Medicaid program."

Click here to Download Court brief

Minnesota Democrats filed a "friend of the court" brief last month in the same case defending the constitutionality of the health care law.

Rulings on the health care law have been mixed since it took effect. Some judges have upheld its constitutionality while others have struck down parts of the law or the entire law.

Liebling signs court brief defending constitutionality of health care law

Rochester Rep. Tina Liebling joined 34 others Democrats in the Minnesota House and Senate who signed onto a "friend of the court" brief that defends the constitutionality of the new federal health care law. The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 11th District. The brief was signed by 154 state legislators in 26 states.

This comes after Florida Judge Roger Vinson recently struck down the entire health care law. Vinson concluded that Congress exceeded its authority when it passed the individual mandate requiring all citizens to have health care coverage.

The friend of the court brief argues that Congress has the authority to address national concerns — including health care. They also argue the commerce clause in the constitution gives Congress the authority to impose the mandate.

It's interesting to note that Liebling is the only Democrat from southeast Minnesota who signed onto the amicus brief. Of course, she is on the DFL lead on the House Health and Human Services Committee and a lawyer by trade. Those who did not sign the brief were Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin and Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin.

 

Senator drops bid to repeal early Medicaid expansion

Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, introduced a bill that would have repealed the early expansion of Medicaid in Minnesota for adults without children. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton had recently signed that expansion into law and it is slated to begin March 1.

But in a Senate Finance Committee meeting this morning, Hann stripped the repeal from his "Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act" bill. The reason? Hann said that a fiscal analysis showed that repealing the measure would end up adding to the state's budget deficit.

"The net effect of the repealer was that there was additional cost to the forecasted budget and after some consideration we felt it might be an easier approach just to not deal with that issue — especially given the likelihood that the governor is not likely to sign a bill that repeals an action that he has taken already," Hann said.

A similar measure is moving ahead in the House and has also had the early Medicaid expansion repeal stripped from the bill.

The GOP senator's bill opposes key provision in the new federal health care law. The bill includes a policy statement that the U.S. Constitution does not give the federal government the right to regulate a person's choice of health care or impose a penalty related to that choice. It would also require the state's Attorney General to take legal action to block any federal law or regulation that violates this policy enacted without adequate federal funding to the state to ensure affordable health care coverage is available to the residents of the state.

"When we say that we are going to allow the federal government to set and define perhaps the largest part of the Minnesota state budget by federal action without our ability to manage that, I find that very, very troubling," Hann said.

DFL Sen. Linda Berglin, of Minneapolis, said she is concerned that Hann's bill would mean that state employees are no longer required to enroll in Medicare when they turn 65 or else the state's insurance will no longer pay their health care claims.

Mayo Clinic opposes bill aimed at getting Gehrig's medical records released

The Mayo Clinic said it formally opposes a bill introduced this week at the state Capitol that would allow medical records to be released if someone has been dead for more than 50 years.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, is aimed at trying to get New York Yankees star Lou Gehrig's medical records released. A study this summer raised the question of whether Gehrig actually died of Lou Gehrig's disease, known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Kahn said these medical records may help answer that question.

When I wrote about the bill on Friday, it had not yet been introduced. At that time, Mayo Clinic's Director of Government Relations Erin Sexton issued the following statement in reaction to Kahn's bill:

"Mayo Clinic values the privacy of its patients and feels patient medical records should be private. This bill would limit the period of time that medical records remain private. We are reviewing the bill but have no position at this time."

Since the bill was introduced Monday the clinic has taken a firm position against the bill. KSTP-TV reporter Tom Hauser reported that Mayo Clinic told him they believe medical records should remain private and oppose the bill.

The bill would prevent these medical records from being released if the deceased stated in their will or health care directive they did not want their records released or if a relative of the deceased objected. Gehrig has no descendants and his medical records have remained confidential since his death in 1941.

 

Mayo Clinic applauds pushed up timeline for Medicaid expansion

Mayo Clinic welcomed Gov. Mark Dayton's announcement on Thursday morning that early enrollment in Medicaid will begin March 1. Officials with former GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty had said the transition would take until Oct. 1.

"Mayo Clinic supports early enrollment in Medicaid to help serve the most vulnerable among us, and we applaud Gov. Dayton for expediting this process. Public policy should be patient-centered, and early enrollment will help people get the care they need," Mayo Clinic spokesman Bryan Anderson said in a written statement.

For Mayo Clinic, the early enrollment is good news for the bottom line. It means that $1.3 billion in federal money will be available for health care providers. Anderson said he could not estimate how much the clinic expects to save in uncompensated care costs by the enrollment timeline being pushed up by seven months. But officials had estimated not doing the early enrollment would cost Mayo Clinic and Mayo Health System between $15 million to $25 million through October 2013.

But expect plenty more debate on the Medicaid expansion. Republicans who oppose the expansion have vowed to push through a bill repealing Dayton's decision. Meanwhile, Dayton has vowed to veto any such measure.

 

Kline, Walz react to health care repeal vote

Reactions from southern Minnesota's two congressman differed dramatically. Republican 2nd District Rep. John Kline, an original sponsor of the repeal measure, praised the effort. During a speech on the House floor, he said the bill would hurt efforts to improve the nation's economy by penalizing job creators.
“A number of provisions in the law will undermine job creation and economic growth, but perhaps none is as alarming as the employer mandate. For the first time in the nation’s history, employers with more than 50 workers are required to provide government-approved health care coverage. Those who do not, or cannot afford to, will be forced to pay a $2,000 penalty for every worker beyond the first 30," Klein said.

Go here to watch Klein's floor speech.

DFL 1st District Rep. Tim Walz offered a very different view. He voted against repealing the measure saying the bill protects everyday Minnesotans. Walz added the residents in southern Minnesota are already benefiting from the bill with seniors now getting help paying for prescription drugs.
“Repealing the Affordable Care Act will eliminate consumer protections, put insurance companies between you and your doctors, raise taxes on small businesses, and explode the deficit. It will be bad for our economy and jobs in places like southern Minnesota that have a robust health care industry," he said.

He also included a link to a document that shows the impact of the health care bill on southern Minnesota.

 

Klobuchar to visit Rochester tomorrow

Minnesota's senior Sen. Amy Klobuchar will be in Rochester tomorrow as part of a statewide "Innovation Tour."

Klobuchar is slated to visit Rochester Community and Technical College at 12:30 p.m. and tour its medical science labs. She will also get a briefing on the college's Health Information Technology program. Since launching her "Innovation Tour" last week, Klobuchar has visited 14 communities. The goal of the tour is to highlight the potential of economic innovation for long-term prosperity and job creation. The Democratic senator serves on the Senate Commerce Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Export Promotion.

Klobuchar will also be stopping by the Post-Bulletin later in the afternoon to meet with the Editorial Board. I plan to cover both events and will have a story for Thursday's paper.