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NAMI Minnesota Legislative Update
January 22, 2017
Legislature Acts on High Premiums
As has been reported in the media, some people who purchase health plans on the
Minnesota exchange - MNSure - whose income is too high to receive tax credits have faced
large increases in their premiums. The Governor and legislature vowed to address the
issue early in the session. The Senate passed its bill last week providing about $300 million
in premium rebates ranging from 20 to 30% for people earning more than 300% but less
than 800% of the federal poverty guidelines. The bill would also allow for-profit HMOs to
operate in the state, provide funding for transition of care coverage and create a
reinsurance program. Read more here and here. To learn about what reinsurance means
(essentially helping plans that have someone with very high medical bills) read here.
The House passed its bill on Thursday night that has similar provisions. However, an
amendment offered on the floor of the House on Thursday night is particularly troubling to
NAMI Minnesota. Rep. Drazkowski (21B)(Mazeppa) offered an amendment that would allow
health plans to not include the federally required essential benefit set under the Affordable
Care Act - which includes mental health and substance use disorders - and would have
repealed all of the current mandates under state law which includes children's residential
treatment and other mental health services. He then amended his amendment to delete
and thus reinstate the state mandate list but then added a sentence that would allow plans
to not offer all of the state mandates as long as they offered at least one plan that includes
all the mandates. These passed on a party line vote with Democrats voting against the
amendments and Republicans voting for them. Read more here and here.
NAMI is very concerned with the House amendment. We know of countless people who
purchased a plan prior to the Affordable Care Act without knowing that it did not cover ANY
mental health or substance use treatment. Because plans under the exchange were
required to cover mental health and substance use disorder treatment more people than
ever had coverage to treat their mental illness. With one in five people impacted by mental
illnesses, it makes sense to require coverage. While there is a provision in existing law that
allows plans to offer flexible benefits for individual and small group plans, it has been very
important that the majority of plans being sold through MNSure have coverage for mental
health. There have been many recent articles about how the ACA improved access to
treatment, read them here, here, here and here.
A conference committee will be appointed. We will let NAMI members know who is on the
conference committee as soon as they are appointed and will issue an action alert. In the
meantime, feel free to reach out to your own state senator and representative and say "I
am a NAMI member and I want every health plan sold in Minnesota to have coverage for
mental health and substance use disorder treatment. It's not an optional illness. It's not
preventable. You don't know when you or a family member will develop one. Please ensure
coverage."
A detailed comparison of the two bills can be found here.
Not sure who represents you?
Committee Hearings
House HHS Finance Committee
The House Health and Human Services Finance Committee met on Tuesday to take
testimony addressing network adequacy requirements with a particular focus on access to
care in Greater Minnesota. Minnesota Health Department (MDH) Assistant Commissioner
Gilbert Acevedo explained that MDH
standards for network
adequacy for general health care, including mental health, can be no more than thirty
miles or thirty minutes of travel from anyone in the state, while specialized care can be no
more than sixty miles or sixty minutes. But as many NAMI members know, this standard is
not enforced.
The committee had a number of ideas to resolve the gaps in healthcare access in
Minnesota. Rep. Liebling, indicated that a bill is being developed that will identify long wait
times as another metric for determining network adequacy. In response, Assistant
Commissioner Acevedo observed that the only MDH standard for wait times are
"unreasonable delays" when making an appointment, which clearly lacks specificity.
Testimony from Critical Access Hospitals highlighted the important role they play in rural
communities. The Critical Access Hospital in Blue Earth County and the Pipestone County
Medical Center in Pipestone identified the urgent need for more mental health care in
greater Minnesota. Sharon Williams of Avera talked about the importance of adequate
resources for mental health: "When our in-patient unit is full or the patient is above our
level of care, we most often will locate the nearest in-patient bed at Avera McKinnon in
Sioux Falls. If both facilities are full, it can take ten to 15 hours to find placement for a
behavioral health bed somewhere else in the state. With the shortage of available
behavioral health beds, do we now need to be concerned if the patient needing that bed is
in network?"
While NAMI knows that bed capacity is an issue now, partly related to "flow" issues, we also
know that in greater Minnesota the wait time for an initial appointment with a mental
health professional can be months and the drive can easily be over 60 miles. We have also
heard from providers that they are not being accepted into networks, especially if they are
a small group or a solo practitioner. If you are a provider who has not been allowed into a
network or a person who has not been able to find care in a timely manner and within 30
minutes or miles - we want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]
On Wednesday and Thursday the committee learned more about the
Direct Care
and Treatment services of the Department of Human Services. Deputy Chuck
Johnson provided an overview of the services provided, number served and costs along
with progress that has been made.
On Thursday the committee took testimony on the programs. Sue Abderholden from NAMI
Minnesota told legislators that state operated used to be the only game in town and
now they were but a small provider of mental health services compared to community
providers. The issues she raised included: 1) problems at Anoka Metro Regional Treatment
Center and the need for community input and a family council, 2) the 48 hour law has been
a disaster for our mental health system and needs to be repealed, 3) the incentive for
counties to develop services by charging them 100% of the cost once someone doesn't
need to be there is also a disaster and that money goes into the general fund and not to
developing community services, 4) Occupancy rates are low and not all the beds are being
used, 5) Commitment Act needs to be changed but not piecemeal but with full stakeholder
involvement, 6) To avoid needing more state operated services, continue to fund
community services and make sure people access services early and have housing.
Connie Kishel, a parent and co-chair of the partners in care advisory committee at the
MN
Security Hospital shared her experiences there and the changes that have taken
place. Thanks to the committee, which has operated about two years, they have done the
following:
*Reviewed and rewrote Admission Welcome Packets,
*Established procedures for more effectively disseminating patient information to families,
*Increased consistency of visiting rules across units,
*Revised the campus map to be more visitor friendly,
*Provided input on hiring qualifications,
*Provided input related to fixtures, furniture and wall coverings in the newly
constructed buildings,
*Assisted with establishing a forensic website,
*Implemented SKYPE for patient/ family visits (while out of town) using three new iPads
*Improved the visiting room atmosphere.
She went on to say, "As a mom, whose son is a patient there, I do believe that there needs
to be more treatment and activities on campus. It's hard to get better when there is little to
do. I hope you will consider increased funding for mental health, OT and vocational staff in
order to provide more needed clinical services and more therapeutic opportunities for
patients especially in the evenings and on weekends."
Other testifiers included Mary Krinkie with the MN Hospital Association. She stated, "We
truly believe that mental health issues are the biggest public health crisis we have facing
our state today. We are hearing from our members all across the state, every corner, small
towns large towns, all over the state that they simply can't meet the demand for mental
health services within their communities. I know there are a lot of different challenges, but
we've kind of looked at this and said where we can contribute the most is to look at the
issue of patient flow." She mentioned the MHA study on hospital beds, where many people
are waiting for a different level of care and the need to invest more in community services.
Staff from the MN Sex Offender Program, Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center, MN
Specialty Health System, and the MN Security Hospital also testified.
House HHS Reform Committee
The committee learned about the Governor's Mental Health Task Force on
Tuesday. Assistant Commissioner Clair Wilson gave an overview of the task force - it's
members, charge, process and recommendations. The key recommendations centered
around: 1) Create a comprehensive continuum of care, 2) Strengthen governance of the
mental health system, 3) Use a cultural lens to reduce mental health disparities, 4) Develop
mental health workforce, 5) Achieve parity, 6) Promote mental health and prevent mental
illnesses, 7) Achieve housing stability, 8) Make short-term improvements to acute care
capacity and 9) Make short-term improvements to crisis response.
Over 15 people testified including representatives from the POST board, community mental
health centers, hospitals, Mental Health Minnesota, Wellness in the Woods, St Paul Youth
Services, George Family Foundation, counties and others.
Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI Minnesota testified Thursday morning. She
stated that "The recommendations in the report are numerous and wide ranging. The
reason is that there is no one single easy thing you can do to address the barriers and gaps
in our mental health system." She went on to say we needed to build on what works (ACT
teams, crisis, school-linked, etc.), address housing issues, provide earlier intervention, and
address workforce issues. She raised the importance of revisiting the county role and the
lack of focus on the OLA recommendations regarding providing mental health care in the
jails. In closing she mentioned her recent experience on the 40-city tour of Minnesota and
that "as I traveled across the state and met with hundreds of individuals and their families,
they all expressed one thing - hope - they believe that our state will continue to make
progress."
House Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance
Committee
The House Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance Committee met on Wednesday to
hear from Department of Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy about the details of the
programs and relevant statistics for the use of segregation, recidivism rates, costs of
operation, probation violation guidelines and corrections officer safety. Read a story here.
Due to the series from the Star Tribune, the most heated portion of the committee meeting
use and potential abuse of
solitary confinement, particularly when it comes to inmates experiencing mental
centered on the Department of Corrections
illness. Rep. O'Neal observed: "So I think that's the segment of folks that we're thinking
about in the discussion around the table... Those that are temporarily violent because of
their severe and persistent mental illness, they get put in isolation, I think those are the
folks that we are concerned about the most because they would further decompensate if
they were in isolation for an extended period of time."
Commissioner Roy would contend that the media has sensationalized his department's use
of segregation, despite the use of DOC data by the Star Tribune, but we are glad that
committee members like Rep. O'Neal are asking tough questions about the use and abuse
of isolation for all prisoners, but especially those with mental illnesses.
The committee met on Thursday to discuss sentencing guidelines and
Peace Officer
Training. The committee began with the testimony of Nathan Grove, the executive
director of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (POST). Grove noted the
disparities between training resources between Greater Minnesota and the metro, while
also noting the dwindling resources appropriated for the training of Peace Officers. Rep.
Becker Finn asked, "How many officers currently have crisis intervention training?"
Executive Director Grove responded that over 1,000 officers have completed the 40-hour
class in crisis intervention training, with the training board hoping to bring that total up to
20%.
The Chair of the Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance, Rep. Cornish, also
emphasized the need for crisis intervention training and stated that a bill was introduced
that very day to fund police officer training, with a special focus on Crisis intervention
training, suicide prevention, and the cultural competency of officers. NAMI supports this bill
and Rep. Cornish's assessment that this is "a proactive bill and I think it'll go over well and
go along to supplying the money we need to train our ten thousand officers." Immediately
after Cornish outlined his new bill, Rep. Dehn confirmed the bipartisan appeal of this bill by
asking about the availability for co-authoring the bill. Read a story here.
Following the testimony on Peace Officer Training, Nathan Reitz testified on how the
sentencing guidelines in Minnesota applies for convicted individuals. The two
primary sources that inform sentencing, according to Reitz, are the severity of the offence
and the criminal history of the convict. Although MN law does provide leeway for the
discretion of the judge, these guidelines go a long way towards setting the length of
incarceration for Minnesota criminals.
Joint Senate meeting on Human Serves Reform and Finance
and Committee on E-12 Finance
On Wednesday January 18th, the senate Committee on Human Services Reform and
Finance and the Committee on E-12 Finance held a joint committee meeting. No bills were
presented, but the joint committee took testimony from Hennepin County, Dakota County,
and the Departments of Education, Health, and Human Services. All testifiers discussed the
importance of
early childhood education and the innovative strategies they are
developing to deliver better outcomes for Minnesota's children.
Assistant Commissioner for Health Improvement Jeanne Ayers stated that their "overall
approach is to support the development of safe, stable and nurturing relationships and
environments, both programatically and then with systems change so that families can
thrive. We know that children thrive when the context is a thriving family and a healthy
community." Ayers cited "maternal depression screening" as one important tool they have
for ensuring the stability of young families and particularly single mothers.
NAMI fully supports the more integrated delivery of mental health services to high risk
populations that Ayers and others discussed. NAMI especially agrees with Dakota County
Community Services Director Kelly Harder that we can't improve educational outcomes
"absent social and behavioral health" for young Minnesotans.
Correction
Last week we wrote that Direct Care and Treatment (DCT) is allocated $894.2 million
annually, and served 1,649 individuals in 2016. We have learned that the $849.2 million is
not annual, but represents spending in FY 2016 and FY 2017. Also, in 2016, DCT served
about 13,000 people across all division operations. The 1,649 figure represents just the
clients served in the state's inpatient mental health hospitals and residential settings.
News from the State
New Bulletins
Minnesota's Out of Home Placement Report is now available.
RFPs
Notice of Request for Proposals for a Qualified Grantee to Administer the Crisis Housing
Assistance Program, also known as the Crisis Housing Fund, supporting persons with
serious mental illness with short term financial assistance an individual needs to retain their
housing and prevent homelessness while they receive mental health or chemical
dependency treatment.
Notice of Request for Proposals to Design a Practicum Consortium for Mental Health
Interpreters Proposals
CCBHCs
As you know from earlier this month, Minnesota was chosen to develop Certified
Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHC). We want to make sure we thank the
authors and co-authors of the bills that were introduced in 2015 and 2016.
Please
write them a note or include a letter to the editor in your local
paper if one of them is your legislator. We could not have done this without their help. Here
are the authors and co-authors: Representatives Kiel, Schomacker, Norton, Knoblach,
Hornstein, Backer and Senators Wiklund, Lourey, Nelson, Rosen, Bonoff
New mental health service aims to reach people early
Chances for recovery are greater with timely treatment
From DHS
Reducing the time it takes for a person experiencing psychosis to get treatment is the goal
of two new mental health pilot projects in the Twin Cities.
Called Coordinated Specialty Care, the pilot projects will serve people 15 to 40 years old
with early signs of psychosis. The word "psychosis" is used to describe conditions that
affect the mind when there has been some loss of contact with reality. Psychosis is
treatable, and studies have shown that early treatment increases the chance of a successful
recovery.
"It's critical that people who are first experiencing psychosis get the right care quickly,"
said Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper. "This research-based
program is an exciting new approach that will help people when they need it most."
Three organizations will receive up to $2.97 million in federal funds through the State of
Minnesota. Offering the new service will be Hennepin County Medical Center with one team
and the University of Minnesota at their Psychiatry Clinic in St. Louis Park with two teams.
Each team can serve up to 30 people.
The third organization receiving funding, the Minnesota Center for Chemical and Mental
Health, will provide technical support, including training, consultation and community
information sessions.
"The need for treatment for first episode psychosis is great," says Piper Meyer-Kalos,
principal investigator and executive director of the Minnesota Center for Chemical and
Mental Health. "Currently, people experiencing psychosis for the first time are typically
waiting well over a year to get treatment."
Psychosis often begins when a person is in their late teens to mid-20s but can occur into
middle adulthood. Psychosis can be a symptom of a mental illness such as schizophrenia or
caused by medications, alcohol or drug abuse. Three out of 100 people will experience
psychosis at some time in their lives, and about 100,000 adolescents and young adults in
the U.S. experience first episode psychosis each year.
Coordinated Specialty Care programs are the result of a 2008 large-scale research project
by the National Institute of Mental Health. Research showed that this care model is more
effective than the usual treatment approaches, treatment is most effective when received
sooner, and treatment for psychosis can be delivered successfully in the community.
"Our goal is to promote optimal brain health through innovative treatments, while also
supporting the individual and their family members in all of their psychological needs," said
Dr. Sophia Vinogradov, head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota
Medical School. "We team up with people experiencing psychosis, their families and the
community to help us determine better and more effective ways to understand their health
needs and to promote their well-being."
Coordinated Specialty Care uses a team of specialists who offer psychotherapy, medication
management, family education, coping skills training and education. They may also offer
case management and peer support.
"We provide an important safety net role for the county and the state. In that role, we
often are the first contact for people having their first episode of psychosis," said Dr.
Marielle Demarais, clinical psychologist for Hennepin County Medical Center. "Our model of
care seeks to help these individuals live the life they want at work, school, and with friends
and family."
Funding for the program is through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA recently required that states set aside 10 percent of
their Community Mental Health Services Block Grant to address these needs.
Symptoms of psychosis may include:

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Delusions or false and persistent beliefs that are not part of the individual's culture.
For example, people with schizophrenia may believe that their thoughts are being
broadcast on the radio.
Hallucinations that include hearing, seeing, smelling, or feeling things that others
cannot. People with the disorder may hear voices that talk to them or order them to
do things.

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Disorganized speech that involves difficulty organizing thoughts, stopping suddenly
and without explanation in the middle of a sentence, and making up nonsensical
words.
Seeming extremely disorganized or unaware of their surroundings.
For more information about the Coordinated Specialty Care program or to learn how to get
help, visit: http://mn.gov/dhs/psychosis/
ER Wait Times
Here is an interesting article about what hospitals could do to address wait times in
emergency rooms.
News from the Federal Government and Congress
ACA Repeal
Congress took their first step toward repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) last week, as
both chambers passed a budget resolution that gives Congress instructions to start
developing an ACA repeal package. The Senate passed the resolution first, followed by the
House, and both votes split primarily along party lines. The budget resolution will permit
the Congressional majority to use reconciliation, a filibuster-proof tool that would allow
repeal legislation to pass with simple majorities in the House and Senate. Read more on
the topic and the impact of repeal here.
It is important to note that last week's vote is just the start of what is expected to be a
months-long debate on health care reform. Members of Congress have proposed multiple
ACA replacement strategies, including: Speaker Paul Ryan's "A Better Way", separate bills
from Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and any potential
replacement plan put forward by the new Trump administration. With an apparent lack of
consensus on the details of ACA replacement, advocates in the behavioral health
community have the time and opportunity to influence this process and potentially delay or
stop cuts to behavioral health services.
From the National Council
Minnesota Mental Health Groups Respond
With increasing concern with repealing the important provisions of the Affordable Care Act
that led to greater access and the discussions surrounding block granting Medicaid, many
mental health groups signed on to a letter sent to the entire Minnesota Congressional
Delegation last week outlining our concerns and providing a history of why these actions
could hurt the further development of our mental health system. To read the full letter,
click here. Here is an editorial on block granting Medicaid.
New Opioid & Medication Assisted Treatment Resources
Available
In response to the ongoing opioid epidemic, the National Council has developed several
resources available online:
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

See an interactive map documenting governor-led opioid initiatives that educate
and help those affected by the epidemic.
Check out our educational infographics for information on prescription drug misuse,
available resources, treatment options and recommended prescribing guidelines.
Learn more about medication assisted treatment (MAT) through a variety of
resources available on our new MAT resource page.
Bill Introductions
House Bill Summaries
H.F. 261 (O'Driscoll) Referred to Veterans Affair Division. Appropriates $100,000 to train
community and state level public safety employees on de-escalation tactics for veterans
who are returning from combat services.
H.F. 268 (Thies) Referred to Education and Innovation Policy. Appropriates $2,500,000 for
the Sanneh Foundation. The funds would be used to provide all-day in school and after
school programming for "low-performing" and "chronically absent" students with a primary
focus on students of color. These funds could also be used to train staff on youth
mentorship, behavior support, and academic tutoring. This grant would also fund the
pathway for more teachers of color.
HF 276 (Bly) Referred to Education Innovation Policy. Increases the time a district must
transport an out-of-district student from one to two years. The bill also requires the
Regional Centers of Excellence to offer trainings for staff on serving the homeless youth
population.
HF 308 (Davnie) Referred to Education Innovation Policy. Requires schools to have a policy
on recess. The bill cites childhood obesity rates and the need to "develop healthy minds and
bodies."
HF 316 (Anderson, S.; Kresha and Kiel) Referred to Health and Human Services
Reform. Makes it a crime to knowingly or permit an unborn child to be exposed to a
controlled substance.
H.F. 341 (Thissen) Referred to Education Innovation Policy. Adds "culturally competence"
to reading interventions, special education, and employee training. The purpose is to
eliminate over-enrollment of minorities and English learners in special education.
H.F. 344 (Davnie) Referred to Education Finance. Increases the special education formula
for fiscal year 2018 to $6219 and 2019 to $6375. The fiscal year of 2020 and later will be
equivalent to the formula allowance for 2019 times the sum of one plus the percentage of
change in the Consumer Price Index for "urban" consumers.
H.F. 346 (Cornish) Referred to Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance. Requires
state and local law enforcement agencies to provide training on crisis intervention and
mental illnesses, conflict management and mediation, and recognizing and valuing
community diversity. The training would consist of 16 continuing education credits within
an officer's three-year licensing cycle. These changes would take place beginning July, 1
2018. $10,000,000 is appropriated to fund the training.
H.F. 354 (Fabian) Referred to Health and Human Services Reform. Requires health plans to
submit a waiver application from network adequacy standards at least 90 days prior to the
annual open enrollment period. The plans must demonstrate that they conducted a "goodfaith" search and that there were no providers in the service area or service providers in
the area do not meet the requirements for credentials. A process is established when there
is a disagreement about the waiver application.
H.F. 357 (Allen) Referred to Health and Human Services Reform. Add families with children
to general assistance when the family with a child is ineligible for MFIP due to the 60 month
time limit.
H.F 369 (Theis) Referred to Job Growth and Energy Affordability Policy and Finance.
Allocates $4,111,000 for grants to be distributed to Centers of Independent Living. These
centers have vocational training and support services for Minnesotans living with a
disability.
H.F 379 (Swedzinski) Referred to Education Innovation Policy. Authorizes additional
people to participate in Southwest Minnesota State University's special education teacher
education
Program including special education paraprofessionals, teachers who are working on a
variance, or individuals with a community expert license. Allocates $132,000.
H.F 382 (Liebling) referred to Health and Human Services Reform. Adds a new insurance
network adequacy standard - wait times. Requires managed care and county-based health
care plans to provide access to primary care and mental health within 45 days and 24
hours for urgent care.
Senate Bill Summaries
SF 134 (Dibble) Referred to Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy. Establishes a
special state prosecutor who has sole jurisdiction over officer-involved incidents in the
state. An oversight board that has key stakeholders is created to oversee this new
position. A chief law enforcement officer of a law enforcement agency must notify the
special state prosecutor whenever there is a peace officer involved incident.
S.F. 144 (Dibble) referred to Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy. Creates civilian
oversight committees to monitor local law enforcement agencies. Adds a requirement that
the POST board (police training) create a model policy for community policing and offer
pre-service and continuing education for peace officers on a number of issues including deescalation and mental health crisis tactics.
S.F. 160 (Clausen) referred to Health and Human Services Finance and Policy. Establishes a
Health Care Workforce Council that is required to submit a report every 5 years detailing
current and future supply and demand of health care providers, and giving
recommendations on future hiring practices and institutional policies. The council shall
consist of 29 members, one of which must represent "mental health practice and
education."
SF 182 (Clausen, Wiklund, and Klein) Creates and appropriates money for a grant program
in order to develop new clinical training programs for physician assistants, advanced
practice registered nurses, and mental health professionals. A planning grant shall not
exceed $75,000, and a training grant shall not exceed $150,000 for the first year,
$100,000 for the second year, and $50,000 for the third year per program.
SF 250 (Utke, Nelson, Lourey, Hoffman, and Abeler) Amends Minnesota Statute to raise the
thresholds for individuals collecting medical assistance who are blind, disabled, or over 65.
SF 248 (Fischbach, Cohen, Tomassoni, Nelson, and Dahms) Referred to Jobs and Economic
Growth Finance and Policy. Allocates $4,111,000 for grants to be distributed to Centers of
Independent Living. These centers have vocational training and support services for
Minnesotans living with a disability.
SF 250 (Utke, Nelson, Lourey, Hoffman, and Abeler) Referred to Human Services Reform
Finance and Policy. Increases the medical assistance asset and spenddown limits for
persons who are blind, who have disabilities, or who are age 65 or older.
SF 251 (Dziedzic, Schoen, Ingebrigtsen, Latz, and Hall ) Referred to Judiciary and Public
Safety Finance and Policy.Establishes a dedicated amount of funding for police training from
the collection of criminal surcharges.
SF 255 (Hayden and Lourey) Referred to Human Services Reform Finance and Policy.
Creates the office of State Eligibility services to coordinate with local eligibility
determinations and streamline, simplify, and consolidate the application and renewal
process for eligible individuals. Includes eligibility for social service and income assistance
programs, health care programs, mental health and chemical dependency programs,
student loan grants, scholarship and nutrition programs for E-12 students, and programs
for persons with disabilities.
SF 284 (Hayden and Lourey) Referred to Health and Human Services Finance and Policy.
Increases income limit eligibility requirements for Minnesota Care and modifies cost sharing
requirements.
SF 285 (Hayden and Lourey) Referred to Health and Human Services Finance and Policy.
Modifyies the definition of affordability for families with access to employer-subsidized
insurance for purposes of MinnesotaCare eligibility.
SF 301 (Abeler, Johnson, Klein, Hoffman, and Jensen) Referred to Health and Human
Services Finance and Policy. Requires health plans to submit a waiver application from
network adequacy standards at least 90 days prior to the annual open enrollment period.
The plans must demonstrate that they conducted a "good-faith" search and that there were
no providers in the service area or service providers in the area do not meet the
requirements for credentials. A process is established when there is a disagreement about
the waiver application.
SF 306 (Lourey) seeks to offer an alternative open enrollment period for within the
individual market or Minnesota Care. This bill expands the opportunities to renew health
care coverage or to enroll in a new plan, with the hopes that more Minnesotans will be able
to access the Minnesota Care benefits they are eligible for.
SF 322 (Fischbach, Ingebrigtsen, and Anderson, B.) Referred to Veterans and Military
Affairs Finance and Policy. Appropriates $100,000 to train community and state level public
safety employees on de-escalation tactics for veterans who are returning from combat
services.
Updates from NAMI Minnesota
Personal Stories for the 2017 Legislative Session
NAMI Minnesota is currently accepting applications from individuals with mental illnesses
who want to share their personal stories and experiences with state law makers. Once
session begins in January, NAMI and advocates will deliver these stories to legislators to
better educate them on the successes a person with a mental illness can achieve given the
right opportunity, proper resources and supports.
NAMI Legislative Committee
Meetings are generally held the second Tuesday of every month. To be added to the email
list contact [email protected]
Pulling Together for Children's Mental Health
All Minnesotans interested in children's mental health are invited to participate in a summit
meeting on Saturday, January 28 at the New Brighton Community Center. Hear from
experts, share ideas, develop consensus, and leverage social media to improve children's
mental health in Minnesota.
Building on the 2015 Pulling Together for Children's Mental Health Summit, organizers
encourage participants to share their expertise and unique perspectives on issues impacting
children's mental health in Minnesota. Information will be shared and discussions hosted to
help us generate consensus statements. We will share these statements with 2017
Minnesota legislators.
Saturday, January 28, 2017 8:30 am - 3 pm
New Brighton Community Center
400 10th St. NW, New Brighton, MN 55112
To register call 651-407-1873
Input into CADI Waiver
NAMI Minnesota invites people interested in sharing their voice regarding their experiences
with home and community based services (under a CADI Waiver), such as case
management, community living support, etc.
Colleagues from The University of Minnesota will be visiting our office on the evenings of
February 6th and 7th. In collaboration, we are all working, locally and nationally, to
improve the way states and counties decide if people with mental illnesses are getting
effective, high-quality services at home and in the community. You are invited to join our
meeting and share your views! The University will be including your input, along with that
of other individuals and families around the country, in a series of recommendations that
will be shared with the National and State Departments of Health and Human Services
(DHHS), the Administration on Community Living (ACL), the National Institute on Disability,
Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), the National Quality Forum, and
dozens of other entities.
What:
Small, guided group discussion of the quality services for adults (age 15+) with a mental
illness who have experience with Home and Community Based Services (CADI Waiver). We
will be discussing issues that affect recipients individually, and as a larger community.
Groups will be of 5-8 people in a facilitated discussion. Spaces are limited.
Dinner will be provided as a thank you to all participants and travel will be reimbursed
Who:
There will be a session for adults with a mental illness (age 18+)
and
a session for family members of individuals (age 15+) with a mental illness
Where:
NAMI Minnesota Office Conference Room
800 Transfer Road #31, St. Paul, MN 55114
When:
Session for adults with a mental illness will be held on Monday, Feb 6th from 6:00-8:30pm.
Session for family members of those living with a mental illness will be held on Tuesday,
Feb 7th from 6:00-8:30pm.
RSVP:
To reserve your space, please contact [email protected]
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NAMI Minnesota | 800 Transfer Road, Suite 31 | St. Paul, MN 55114
[email protected]| http://www.namihelps.org
651-645-2948 | 1-888-NAMI-HELPS
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