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2024 Legislative Wrap Up
Hello Friend!
Just last week I woke up in my office at the State Office Building after going to sleep at 4:30 as the sun was coming up, getting ready to bring our 2023-24 session to a successful conclusion. And we did, with the DFL trifecta making transformational changes that will benefit generations of Minnesotans. I’m so proud of our work and so grateful for your support.
One of my most notable accomplishments this year was passage of the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act. We enacted reforms to reduce the unfair burden of medical debt on Minnesotans that result from our inequitable and inefficient healthcare system. The bill also includes garnishment and bankruptcy reforms that apply to all consumer debt for Minnesotans. My legislation:
- Ends the automatic transfer of medical debt to a patient’s spouse
- Bans medical debt from being reported to credit bureaus
- Bans medical providers from withholding medically necessary care due to unpaid debt
- Establishes strong protections from unethical medical debt collections practices
- Allows people who successfully defend medical debt lawsuits to have their attorney's fees paid
- Requires medical providers to publish their medical debt collection practices
- Creates a new process to help people dispute errors in medical coding and billing
With legislation I authored, we also took a step toward managing the impact of corporatization of our healthcare systems by putting limitations on for-profit Health Maintenance Organization (HMOs). As a result, for-profit HMOs will no longer be allowed to provide coverage to state funded members (Medicaid, MinnesotaCare, or the state employee group). This ensures that publicly funded healthcare will not be part of a system that puts profits before patients.
As a trifecta, we also passed important equity-focused legislation, notably the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act, which prevents arbitrary and unnecessary removal of children from their homes and supports family reunification. I was a coauthor of this bill and am very happy to say that it received strong bipartisan support. We also supported equity in healthcare by passing my bills to fund two important programs:
- Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio (CLUES) to continue providing bilingual and bicultural mental health services to many uninsured or underinsured clients
- Developing an American Indian focused birth center to improve maternal and child outcomes
If I went through all of our successes, this would be a very long email. You can plan to hear more about our wins throughout the campaign season–it’ll be our inspiration and motivation to fight to keep our trifecta for another two years!
Of course, there were disappointments, including our failure to get the ERA across the finish line. To me, it’s a clear manifestation of the anti-queer, anti-transgender, and anti-bodily autonomy forces that want us to lose in 2024. If anything, their opposition makes me even more resolute to fight for our rights and our values as we move into campaign season.
So let’s get to it! I’ve had a week of healthy food (so fun to have time to cook again), naps, long walks with my dog–a full list of R&R. And now, hurray, it’s back to the campaign trail!
Who wants to door knock with me (it’s more fun with a door buddy)? Join me in the Eagan July 4 parade? Write postcards to people in our community? Find another way to volunteer? We'd love to have you!
Campaigns cost money, so I’m asking you to help me. If you haven’t used the PCR program, learn more about it here. You can give $75, get $75 back with this incredible state program to support local grassroots fundraising.
Join our group of monthly donors! Any amount is valuable and it’s so helpful to be able to plan a portion of our campaign funding.
Let’s bring our joy, vision, and passion to the campaign as we hold back the forces of hate that want to rule our state and our country. We have half a year to tell our story and build our coalition. We’ll do it together!
Liz