Minnesota Budget Bites

The HEROES (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions) Act proposal is a needed Congressional effort to...

Federal policymakers should move quickly to direct significant additional funding to states, as well as local and tribal governments, to address the severe impacts of the public health emergency and the economic recession, and to prevent the economic downturn from getting worse.

The May budget projection will guide the decisions that policymakers make in the remaining weeks of the legislative session, and the months beyond. They remind us of how many of our neighbors are struggling, and the importance of taking swift action to reduce the hardships that Minnesotans and their families are facing as a result of the pandemic, and to start building for the economic recovery.

While they have taken some preliminary steps, federal decision-makers should further boost the Medicaid dollars it sends to states, make that increase last until the economy recovers, and maintain strong requirements to protect health care coverage.