July 2007 | Back to Table of Contents

MMA News

Legislative Wrap-Up

The 2007 Legislative session, which adjourned in May, was the best in several years in terms of establishing patient-friendly policies and initiatives to improve the health of Minnesotans.

Lawmakers enacted bills that will significantly improve public health, access to care, and the function of the state’s health care sector. Topping the list of achievements was passage of the historic Freedom to Breathe Act, a statewide ban on smoking in all workplaces including bars and restaurants. The MMA and other supporters of the ban fended off numerous attempts to weaken the bill. But in the end, Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed into law a ban that had only minor exemptions.  

Also, for the first time in four years, Minnesotans enrolled in public health insurance programs won’t face drastic cuts in benefits. The state had a budget surplus instead of a deficit, which allowed legislators to extend health care coverage in state programs to another 54,000 Minnesotans.

The MMA made headway on other top legislative priorities as well, including health care reform, protecting the Health Care Access Fund, and increasing reimbursement for medical interpreters.

Through its participation and leadership in Healthy Minnesota: A Partnership for Reform, the MMA met health care reform goals such as working toward universal coverage, implementing the medical home concept, and expanding the use of electronic medical record systems.

The MMA also got legislators’ attention with the introduction of a bill calling for a Health Care Access Fund oversight committee. The measure did not pass. But for the first time in several years, provider tax funds were not siphoned off for purposes other than those for which they were intended.

The MMA also made progress toward securing reimbursement for medical interpreters. This was the first year that health plans agreed to support a requirement that they pay for medical interpreter services. The bill, however, did not pass because of opposition from the governor and the business community.

“But getting that agreement was a big step forward,” says Dave Renner, the MMA’s director of state and federal legislation. The Legislature approved formation of a group that will study the interpreter issue, which is expected to come up for discussion again in 2008.

The MMA also helped defeat measures such as a ban on thimerosal in vaccines and expansion of physical therapists’ scope of practice.

“Each session is a mixture of bills we want to see pass and fail. By and large the ones we hoped wouldn’t pass this session didn’t,” Renner says. “This was a very good session for the MMA.”

Progress on Reform  2004–MMA convenes its health care reform task force, which writes the report Physicians’ Plan for a Healthy Minnesota. January 2005–MMA Board approves the report and directs MMA leaders and staff to build support; they meet with more than 70 groups representing government, insurers, labor, employers, consumers, and others. March 2006–The 26-member steering committee of Healthy Minnesota: A Partnership for Reform meets for the first time. The group eventually sets the goal of introducing reform legislation during the 2007 legislative session. March 2007–Healthy Minnesota holds a press conference announcing introduction of its health care reform legislation, which includes a requirement for all Minnesotans to have health care coverage. May 2007–The Legislature approves health care reform measures such as medical home pilot projects, health information technology financing, and a 2011 deadline for achieving universal coverage.

Healthy Minnesota Advanced 2007 Debate

By the end of the Minnesota legislative session in May, the Healthy Minnesota Partnership for Reform had achieved its 2007 goals of introducing health care reform legislation and influencing debate at the Capitol.

“That dialogue has shown us the direction we need to go, which is to have a health care system that includes everyone and is affordable, safe, and transparent,” says Healthy Minnesota Chair and MMA Trustee Donald Jacobs, M.D.

In March, Healthy Minnesota–sponsored legislation was introduced that laid out a plan to achieve universal coverage by 2011, create medical home pilot projects, strengthen public health, and provide incentives for implementing health information technology.

The bill did not pass, but the Legislature endorsed some of its concepts by approving funding for several medical home pilot projects and setting a goal of achieving universal health insurance coverage in the state by 2011. It also approved $14 million to help providers implement electronic health record systems.

The partnership’s greatest achievement, Jacobs says, was bringing together diverse stakeholders to remove barriers to health care reform.

Dave Renner, MMA director of state and federal legislation, also credits the Healthy Minnesota partnership with building momentum for health care reform in 2008. Both the governor and the Legislature plan to convene groups that will work toward a comprehensive overhaul next year.

The Healthy Minnesota Steering Committee plans to meet this summer to determine its next steps.

2007 Resolutions for the AMA

The MMA delegation to the AMA Annual Meeting in June presented three resolutions on these issues:

Sleep Medication Advertising. The MMA asked the AMA to explore possible restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising for sleep medications and to establish a dialogue with the drug manufacturers and other stakeholders in order to encourage modification of the current aggressive marketing tactics for these drugs.

Access to Psychiatric Beds. The MMA proposed that the AMA work with stakeholders such as the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of EMS Physicians, and the American Ambulance Association to study and develop recommendations regarding the scope of the psychiatric bed availability problem nationwide and its impact on emergency and general medical resources.

Type 2 Diabetes in Children. The MMA recommended that the AMA support efforts to gather data on the prevalence of diabetes in children. The MMA also asked the AMA to promote greater awareness among physicians of type 2 diabetes in children and the availability of resources on the prevention and treatment of this growing public health threat.