The tax that pays for MinnesotaCare is set to expire at the end of the year. So far, legislators

The tax that pays for MinnesotaCare is set to expire at the end of the year. So far, legislators can’t agree on a plan to replace it


Most everyone seems to like what the Minnesota “provider tax” buys.

The 2 percent assessment on medical bills and hospital stays was created 27 years ago by Minnesota state legislators from both parties to pay for a health coverage plan for the working poor called MinnesotaCare and other health care programs for low-income residents. Republican and Democratic lawmakers want to continue spending on those programs that impact around 1.5 million Minnesotans.

Where bipartisanship breaks down, however, is over the tax itself. Republicans are likely to use their control of the state Senate to block any attempt to continue the tax beyond its statutory sunset at the end of 2019. DFLers, who have the governor’s office and the state House, want to lift that sunset — in effect, repeal the repeal — as a way of not pitting health care programs against other mainstays of the general fund budget.

The debate is highlighted by how they frame the issue. Democrats will say that since the tax is already collected, the action they favor is not a tax increase. Republicans respond by noting that doing nothing means the tax dies and medical bills will no longer include a 2 percent assessment. Doing something, therefore, is a tax increase.

Read more: https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2019/02/the-tax-that-pays-for-minnesotacare-is-set-to-expire-at-the-end-of-the-year-so-far-legislators-cant-agree-on-a-plan-to-replace-it/