One of the major issues to be resolved in the final days of the legislative session is whether the governor would agree to an early Medicaid expansion. You may recall that the recently enacted Affordable Care Act gives states the option to expand Medicaid to adults without children as soon as this year. Hospitals and other medical providers are pushing for this expansion because it would replace the the very fragile General Assistance Medical Care program, the health care program for Minnesota’s poorest citizens that is currently being held together with little more than paper clips and string. Moving these individuals into Medicaid would ensure them better access to medical care while also guaranteeing that providers would get paid.
As late as yesterday, it looked like the governor would refuse to go along with this plan. He vetoed the human services bill containing such a provision and proclaimed that the dollars just don’t exist for an expansion. But today, he seemed to hint that he might agree to such an expansion if the financing method can be negotiated. The expansion would help tens of thousands of people, so I’m hoping that the spirit of compromise eventually carries the day. Pawlenty has the opportunity to end his last legislative session on a somewhat positive note, which would be a welcome change from so many past sessions.
