Delegation urges CMS to reconsider decision involving MinnesotaCare

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representatives Jim Hagedorn (R-MN), Angie Craig (D-MN), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), and Pete Stauber (R-MN) urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to revisit the agency’s decision to partially deny the state’s request for a waiver regarding MinnesotaCare, the state’s Basic Health Program.

In 2016, Minnesota was one of the first states to apply for a Section 1332 State Innovation Waiver to establish a reinsurance program to ensure more Minnesotans have access to affordable, quality health care. However, the waiver request was only partially approved.

The letter notes that CMS’s decision to partially approve the waiver application in 2017 has caused the state to receive significantly less annual federal funding than expected for the state’s Basic Health Program, leading the state to lose over $49 million in federal funding between 2018 and 2020, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

The letter also stresses Minnesota’s standing as a national leader in health care and medical innovation as one of only two states with an established Basic Health Program. MinnesotaCare served approximately 75,000 Minnesotans in 2019 and “is a vital source of health coverage for people who may not otherwise have access to health insurance,” the legislators wrote in the letter.

The legislators continued: “We know that access to quality health care is more important than ever in light of the coronavirus pandemic— which has infected hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans and disrupted access to employer-based health coverage. On behalf of our constituents, we urge you to consider the state of Minnesota’s request.

Members of the Minnesota
Congressional Delegation