MINNEAPOLIS, April 24, 2008 - In response to pressure from physicians and legislators, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has cut in half the amount he wants to raid from the Health Care Access Fund to $125 million.

 

At the start of the legislative session, Pawlenty proposed taking $250 million from the HCAF to help cover a $935 million budget shortfall caused by sagging state revenues.

 

“We’re glad that the governor is moving in the right direction,” said Dave Renner, the MMA’s director of state and federal legislation. “But we’ve made it very clear that we think it’s totally inappropriate to use any provider tax funds to balance the budget.”

 

The MMA strongly objected when Pawlenty put forward his budget balancing plan that over a three-year period would take nearly $400 million out of the health care access fund. Hundreds of physicians contacted the governor and urged him not to break the previous promises made to physicians that provider tax funds would only be used to help Minnesotans get access to health care.

 

Legislators also voted against Pawlenty’s raid on the fund. Both the House and the Senate passed budgets earlier this month that covered the shortfall without tapping the health care fund.

 

The MMA is now focused on getting the 10 members serving on the budget conference committee to support the House budget bill.

 

The House budget bill does not raid the HCAF, nor does it cut physician payments, as the Senate proposal does. The Senate bill includes a 3 percent cut in payments for providers who treat patients covered by the state’s public programs.