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Dear Neighbors,

Spring is here, and this week marked the House’s “first deadline week,” which means that we are entering the phase of the legislative session where we see which bills will continue to advance through the legislative process. House leaders announced an agreement over the last weekend on committee finance targets for crafting a state budget for the next two years. 

This House agreement [ [link removed] ] calls for almost $1.16 billion in funding reductions to the General Fund. The work before us now is designing a bipartisan budget framework balancing the Senate budget targets [ [link removed] ] and the Governor’s budget recommendations [ [link removed] ], which all have significant differences from the House. In my role as Vice Chair of the Health Finance and Policy Committee, I am particularly focused on putting together a health budget that looks out for all Minnesotans. Given the current economic forecast indicating a future state deficit, we must remain cautious about the impacts of federal tariffs, an uncertain stock market, and other federal cuts impacting services in Minnesota. We have already seen impacts in Minnesota with the loss of 170 jobs in the Minnesota Health Department because of capricious federal cuts. A balanced budget approach is essential to safeguard critical services for Minnesotans, particularly those relying on Medicaid.






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Protect Medicaid, Not Millionaires

While President Trump and Congressional Republicans look to subsidize tax cuts for the wealthy by reducing federal funding for Medicaid, DFL legislators introduced legislation [ [link removed] ] that would raise taxes on millionaires at the level necessary to offset any cuts to this crucial program. Medicaid is the largest single source of health insurance in Minnesota, serving senior citizens, children, families, and people with disabilities. 

A report from Congress’s Joint Economic Committee [ [link removed] ] found that if Republicans in Congress pass their proposed budget and cut Medicaid, Minnesota could see 89,000 rural residents lose their health coverage, 130,000 children lose their health insurance, more than 1 in 6 seniors lose their nursing home care and, in total, nearly 400,000 people cut off from their health insurance. If these callous cuts go through without additional revenue raised by Minnesota, it will have a direct and immediate negative effect on health in Minnesota, costing lives and doing harm.

Rare Disease Advisory Council Day of Advocacy

One in 10 Minnesotans is affected by rare diseases. This week I attended the Minnesota Rare Disease Advisory Council Day of Advocacy at the Capitol, where I spoke and met with other rare disease advocates to learn more about the council's priorities and share specific policies.

Most states have a rare disease advisory council, but Minnesota is the only one that is a state agency. Its projects include an online continuing education series, patient advocacy listening sessions, and position papers on proposed legislation.

We’ve made great progress in passing laws like rapid whole genome sequencing to provide families with answers in days instead of years—saving lives, reducing suffering, and lowering healthcare costs. I’m committed to working with RDAC and our other partners to ensure families and patients get the treatment they need and deserve. Working together, we can ensure we are researching, diagnosing, treating, and educating.

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Fraud Prevention Resources 

Text, email, and social media scams are becoming more sophisticated and more prevalent. If you’re like me, you probably have gotten some of these scam texts that say you need to pay a toll or confirm a payment--it's important to be skeptical of such texts. Those E-Z Pass texts are scams, and MnDOT has issued a fraud warning here [ [link removed] ] with resources in case you accidentally click a link.

I want to share some helpful resources with you on how to spot and avoid scams, and where you can go for help if you or someone you know falls victim to these fraudsters. Remember that it’s important to break down the stigma of embarrassment and report any cases so law enforcement can take any actions possible to try to recover funds or stop future scams.

Attorney General Keith Ellison has some resources on How to Spot a Scam [ [link removed] ] with helpful examples and a list of common scams [ [link removed] ]. If you have concerns about a particular offer or believe you are the victim of a scam, the Attorney General wants to hear from you. You may call (651) 296-3353 (Twin Cities Calling Area) or (800) 657-3787 (Outside the Twin Cities), or submit a Consumer Assistance Request Form [ [link removed] ].

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Meanwhile, here at the Legislature, we are working on bills to support the Attorney General’s work cracking down on fraud in the public and private sectors. Some proposals include stiffer penalties on Medicaid fraudsters [ [link removed] ], a fraud investigation unit within the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension [ [link removed] ], fighting against employer misclassification fraud, [ [link removed] ] and protecting veterans from claim sharks [ [link removed] ] that seek to profit off the benefits they earned in service to our country.

I’m also advancing a bill for the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office to address business identity theft.

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Keep in Touch

If you have any questions or feedback you’d like to share, you can contact me by email at [email protected] or call (651) 296-4128. Please don’t hesitate to reach out.  

Sincerely,  

Liz Reyer  

State Representative 








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