Minnesota would lose billions in federal funding under latest Senate health bill

Glenn Howatt and Jennifer Brooks of the Strib report, “Minnesota stands to lose billions of dollars in federal funding if Senate Republicans are successful next week in their latest bid to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Supporters of the so-called Graham-Cassidy bill say it returns control of health care policy to the states. But many Minnesota health officials counter that it endangers care of seniors and people with disabilities, and would lead to even more costly premiums in the individual market.”

At MPR, Mark Zdechlik writes, “Minnesota would get hit with a 30 percent reduction in Medicaid funding between 2020 and 2026, said Kaiser Family Foundation Executive Vice President Diane Rowland. ‘The states that made the most progress and therefore drew the most federal dollars down are now seeing many of those dollars redistributed under this proposal’, Rowland said.” It’s a basic life lesson we can all teach our kids.

Related In the PiPress, Rachel Stassen Berger says, “Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will debate the Democratic side of health care policy Monday evening on CNN, the cable station said. On the Republican side: U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, and Bill Cassidy, of Louisiana. The two Republicans are working to shepherd through a repeal of the federal Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who has been pushing single-payer health care, will round out the quartet. Minnesota U.S. Sen. Franken has supported the single-payer bill but Klobuchar has not.” They should have Jimmy Kimmel teed up as their “phone-a-friend.

Also in the Pioneer Press, Josh Verges writes: “A St. Paul Public Schools administrator in charge of college readiness and school climate was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly sending threatening text messages to co-workers. Robert Jon Peterson, 42, has worked for the school district since 2013. St. Paul police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster said Peterson is suspected of sending text messages threatening violence against employees around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday. Ernster didn’t say specifically what Peterson wrote in the messages.”

Speaking of our neighbors. Kelly Weill from The Daily Beast writes, “Wisconsin Governor and one-time presidential hopeful Scott Walker may have violated his state’s constitution with a law that would give the technology company Foxconn special treatments in the courts, legal analysts say. … Under the new law, all appeals in Foxconn-related cases will now have a fast track to the state’s Supreme Court, a majority-conservative body, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel previously reported. The new law also puts a stay on all rulings from lower courts until a higher court weighs in, and requires higher courts to accept appeals on orders from lower courts, even if the order is not final. The provisions’ combined effects could stonewall legal challenges on the Foxconn factory, or send them to more conservative courts.” I love the smell of democracy in the morning.

Switcheroo in Uptown. Says Amelia Rayno in the Strib, “Coup d’Etat, which serves new American food and cocktails in a spacious two-tier space in Uptown, will shutter its doors on Oct. 1 after three and a half years in business. After a remodel, Pourhouse Uptown – an offshoot of the original Pourhouse, a downtown bar and nightclub – will open in its place by the end of the year.” 

One mussel. Says MPR, “State conservation officials said Thursday a single zebra mussel was found in Minneapolis’ Lake Harriet, one of the city’s iconic lakes, but added that no more have been found and treatment isn’t needed ‘at this time’. One was enough, however, to land the lake on Minnesota’s infested waters list for zebra mussels.” 

Next time: satellite phone. Or maybe just a stroll at MOA. Says Stribber Matt McKinney, “A lost hunter spent nearly three days in a boggy section of the Nemadji Forest north of the Twin Cities before he was rescued by helicopter early Thursday morning, the State Patrol reported. Robert Kniefel, 61, of Lakeville, called his family early Tuesday to tell them he had lost his way after following a trail into the 92,000-acre forest. … A Pine County officer exchanged text messages with Kniefel before the connection was lost. … Using a new high-definition thermal imaging camera mounted on a Cirrus SR-22 airplane, the State Patrol found Kniefel soon after they began a nighttime search Wednesday. He had built a fire on an island in the bog.”

Maybe it’s our turn to talk secession? At MPR, Cody Nelson writes, “Minnesota and 13 other states appear on target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the amount set in the Paris climate accord. Their progress comes despite President Trump abandoning the global environmental agreement in June. Shortly after Trump pulled the U.S. from the Paris deal, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton joined onto the U.S. Climate Alliance, whose members include 14 states and Puerto Rico. The Climate Alliance said in a report this week that its members are on track to hit or exceed their goal of reducing 2005 greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent come 2025.”