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February 2, 2007
While no committee deadlines have been officially adopted, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller told his colleagues on the floor this week that the Senate plans to pass its major bills--including the tax bill--by April 2. He said that committees should be ready to work hard the next two months, including possible meetings on Saturday. If this timeline is actually adopted, deadlines would several weeks ahead of the traditional schedule.
House Health and Human Services Hears Health Care Reform Overview
On Tuesday, the Health and Human Services Committee chaired by Representative Paul Thissen heard from former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger, Peter Hutchinson, Dr. Maureen Reed, and Julie Sonier on the topic of health care costs and reform. Sen. Durenberger, with the National Institute of Health Policy, gave an overview of the current health care system and pointed out that the US pays twice as much for healthcare than any other country, but we do not have twice the quality to go along with that. Minnesota has often been at the forefront of health care and some suggestions for improvement that he gave included:
· Put Minnesotans in the drivers seat
· Fully disclose costs and quality
· Provide incentives to encourage healthy behaviors
· Universal participation
· New models of health care education
· Address overhead and administrative costs
