Budget puts Minnesotans first by improving healthcare and supporting students and seniors
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Senate has passed four more omnibus budget bills this week, with investments that will ensure greater opportunities in higher education, protect natural resources, support senior care developments and the healthcare workforce, and provide high-quality healthcare for Minnesota communities.
“We are continuing to build a budget that reflects the priorities and values Minnesotans share as we focus on providing stability, ensuring healthy communities, and supporting those Minnesotans who care for others – whether nurses, personal care attendants, or child care workers,” said Senator Liz Boldon (DFL – Rochester). “This budget is delivering transformational change to improve the lives of Minnesotans across the state, and is a budget to be proud of.”
The Senate passed four omnibus budget bills, all with bipartisan support, this week: Legacy, Higher Education, Human Services, and Health and Human Services, with highlights including but not limited to:
Higher Education
- Provides tuition-free college for 40,000 Minnesotans who have a family income under $80,000/year
- $266 million in new funding for Minnesota State System
Human Services
- $776 million for wages, bonuses, and benefits for Personal Care Attendants
- $437 million for senior care
Health and Human Services, Children and Families
- Establishes Department of Children, Youth, and Families
- Invests in childcare access and workforce (including an early childhood apprenticeship grant program from Senator Boldon)
Health and Human Services, Improving Healthcare
- Increased rate reimbursements for mental health care providers (a Senator Boldon provision)
- Minnesota Care buy-in (Public Option)
- Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act to support healthcare workforce
- Health Care Affordability Board
- Requiring hospitals to proactively screen for “charity care” eligibility prior to collecting medical debt (a Senator Boldon provision)
- Healthcare Worker Safety and Security Grant Program (a provision carried by Senator Boldon)
- $4.8 million in grants for addressing homelessness in Olmsted County (a provision carried by Senator Boldon)
Legacy
- $318 million for clean water projects
- $171 million for outdoor heritage projects
- $195 million for arts and cultural projects (including $900,000 for the George Stoppel Historic Site Rehabilitation, a provision brought forward by the History Center of Olmsted County and carried by Senator Boldon)
- $136 million for parks and trails projects
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