House OKs health policy bill with optometry expansion, new borrowing option

A whirlwind Thursday marked by a brief tornado warning at the Capitol Complex and a long-awaited announcement of a budget agreement ended with subdued floor session and the House unanimously approving its omnibus health policy bill.

Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley), HF2464, as amended, would expand the scope of practice for optometrists, allow newborns to be surrendered to some fire stations, remove a barrier to physician assistants to practice and create a path for nonprofit health care organizations to get capital funding.

Backer called the bill lean, mean and bipartisan when it was approved the House Health Finance and Policy Committee, which he co-chairs with Rep. Robert Bierman (DFL-Apple Valley).

Expanding the scope of practice for optometrists to include injections raised objections from some health committee members who expressed concerns about safety. Supporters, however, say the change will increase access to eye care and that Minnesota is an outlier among states with regard to what optometrists are allowed to do.

Another section of the bill would rename the Minnesota Higher Education Facilities Authority and allow it to lend to not-for-profit health care and senior living facilities. It would raise the bonding cap to $5 billion, with $2.75 billion allocated for health care projects.

As of March 15, the authority carried $1.2 billion in outstanding debt.

Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL-Maple Grove), sponsor of the original authority bill, said many facilities have looked to expand using the state’s tax-exempt bonding authority. Including health care and senior living projects — as 14 other states do — could enable lower-cost borrowing for initiatives such as adding memory care beds or expanding capacity at the Hazelden Betty Ford Center.

The agency is fully funded through borrower fees, and officials say the expansion would not affect the state’s bonding capacity or credit rating. Moreover, broadening lending authority to include health care institutions would help stabilize the agency’s financial health, they say.

Other provisions in the bill would:

• amend the Safe Place for Newborns statute to include fire stations staffed 24 hours and those with a designated safe place;
• require the Health Department to conduct maternal death studies;
• allow some emergency response data to be shared with the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area’s Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program; and
• modify physician assistants’ licensure requirements so their collaborative practice may be with physicians licensed in places other than Minnesota.

A provision that would require informed consent before a doctor or medical student performs a sensitive exam on an unconscious patient was also included in the omnibus health finance bill that passed the House Monday.