Contentious omnibus health and human services finance bill to Ways and Means

DFL members of the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee roundly criticized the $13.73 billion omnibus health and human services bill before it was approved as amended Wednesday and sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.

“There are many good things in this bill … however, those good things are financed with funny money … savings in this bill that will not materialize,” Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester) said. “Worse than saying ‘no’ is saying ‘yes’ when you don’t mean it.”

The companion, SF800, sponsored by Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake), awaits action by the Senate Finance Committee.

After a brief walkthrough of the bill, which was released on Monday, the committee considered nine amendments and adopted six offered by Republicans.

Of the adopted amendments, the most substantial was proposed by bill sponsor and committee chair Rep. Matt Dean (R-Dellwood). A portion of the amendment will be heard by the House Civil Law and Data Practices Policy Committee Thursday.

It makes a range of changes, including additions that would:

• appropriate $5 million over the biennium to ensure ongoing access to community-based waiver services by providing grants to providers negatively impacted by the transition to new service delivery models;
• remove a financial disincentive for people on the Minnesota Family Investment Program who want to get married;
• give the Department of Human Services the responsibility to investigate maltreatment allegations in juvenile correction facilities;
• establish a program to support adoptive, foster, and kinship families, as possible through available federal funds; and
• institute integrity measures regarding child care that were recommended in Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposed budget.

Other adopted amendments would:

• provide $825,000 to fund grants supporting substance abuse treatment providers;
• adjust quality measures for providers serving “socio-economically complex patient populations;” and
• update language to reflect ongoing deliberation with DHS.

DFL committee members described several Republican-backed savings measures in the bill as “fake,” “fictitious,” “unsubstantiated,” “based on sand” and a disingenuous way to reach the committee target, $622.88 million less than current spending.

“That seems like a false promise to people” that could have unintended consequences on important programs and the lives of people in need, said Rep. Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul).

Dean disagreed with the claims, stating that savings may actually exceed projections.

An amendment offered by Murphy, but voted down, would have removed some of the bill’s most controversial big-ticket savings measures, including health care delivery pilot projects, changes to competitive bidding and outcome tracking, and a reduction to Medical Assistance provider rates that would go into effect if savings from those programs don’t meet expectations.

Murphy’s amendment was one of three offered by DFL members, none of which passed.

An amendment offered by Rep. Jack Considine Jr. (DFL-Mankato) would have funded a wage increase for personal care assistants, which he called “woefully inadequate but … better than nothing.” The omnibus bill’s lack of funding to support PCAs was condemned by both DFL committee members and several people who testified Tuesday.

An amendment offered by Liebling proposed documentation and billing requirements that would address fraud and save money over in time, even if those savings couldn’t be included in the omnibus spreadsheet, she said. Republicans rejected the measure as an additional burden on care providers.