The Minnesota Senate is considering a bill that would open up MinnesotaCare to more low-income
families.
If passed, the bill would raise the MinnesotaCare income eligibility limit. Previously, MinnesotaCare has not been available to people that make more than $27,000. This proposal adds a sliding scale for premiums for adults that make more than that.
“We know that the current healthcare system is not working for everyone,” Sen. Melissa Wiklund (DFL) said. “Too many people are being left behind, unable to access or afford needed care for themselves or for their loved ones.”
The bill - SF 49 - would also provide a tax credit for small businesses to help ease the cost of providing healthcare to their employees.
The DFL has presented similar proposals in the past, but the bills stalled in what was then a GOP-controlled Senate.
“The goal of this healthcare package is breaking down the barriers that prevent Minnesotans from accessing or keeping the coverage they are already eligible for,” Wiklund said.
The House has had two hearings in the Commerce Finance and Policy and the Health Finance and Policy committees on its version of the bill, HF96.
MinnesotaCare is also set to see an additional expansion if the current omnibus budget is passed by the state legislature. The budget calls for an extension of premium reductions through 2025, as well as an estimated expenditure of $1.53 billion in the 2023-2025 biennium.