UPDATE: HHS Conference Committee Co-Chair Liebling announces next public hearing to be held this morning

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — The joint House/Senate Conference Committee tasked with developing a compromise state Health and Human Services budget will hold its next meeting Tuesday morning at 10:45 a.m. in Room 1200 of the Minnesota Senate Building. The committee, to be chaired by Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), will focus on health care coverage in the state, namely the future of the Health Care Access Fund, Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare, funding for the Minnesota Department of Health, and changes to direct care and treatment facilities.

WHAT: Meeting of the House/Senate Conference Committee on the Health and Human Services Budget, HF 2414
WHO: Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), committee members
WHERE: Room 1200, Minnesota Senate Building, 95 University Ave W, Saint Paul
WHEN: 10:45 a.m., Tuesday, May 7

The House DFL HHS budget would help ensure that all Minnesotans can access the high-quality, affordable health care they deserve. It makes prescription drugs more affordable, ends taxpayer handouts to insurance companies, and expands coverage options and ensures care remains available for low-income Minnesotans. The budget also extends the funding mechanism for the state’s Health Care Access Fund, without which coverage for over 1.2 million Minnesotans could be in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, in addition to over $1 billion in harmful cuts, the Senate Republican HHS budget relies on shifts, gimmicks, and $470 million in made-up savings that non-partisan fiscal staff cannot verify.