Good morning, and welcome to another hard-earned Friday.
On the radio today I’ll be talking to DFL Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic and later to GOP Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson about what’s happened and what might still happen in the final weeks of the legislative session. Tune in to MPR News at noon or catch the stream online.
One proposal that is very much alive heading into the last two weeks of the session would require schools to have a supply of naloxone, the anti-overdose drug. MPR’s Brian Bakst reports: Versions of legislation that have passed in Minnesota’s House and Senate would require every public school building to have at least two doses of naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcon, on site. And the state would provide the money for the nasal spray, for staff training and to help develop protocols for using naloxone. That would start this summer — slower than advocate Colleen Ronnei says is ideal. “Not soon enough,” she said. “We’re already a day late and a dollar short.” Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, is also a physician who has tended to patients struggling with substance abuse. As reported overdoses accelerate, including among young people, Morrison says it’s time to act and is sponsoring the proposal, now part of budget bills that are in final negotiations at the Capitol. “Some of the reason this hasn't happened yet is because of the stigma of substance use,” Morrison said. “I think that there are some schools who think that this isn't a problem in their district. And unfortunately, this doesn't discriminate by geography, by socioeconomic status, by race, by anything. It's happening everywhere.” U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips is also working on federal legislation that would help pay for naloxone in schools.
The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents has named its finalists for the job of interim president. MPR’s Estelle Timar-Wilcox reports they are former Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger, university Senior Vice President Myron Frans, U of M Crookston Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause and E. Thomas Sullivan, a former senior vice president and provost at the U and president emeritus of the University of Vermont. The board plans to have a special meeting as early as Monday to publicly interview finalists and make its choice. Current University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel is leaving in early June to become chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh. The Board is looking for an interim president who can start before then.
Minnesota officials hit Bloomington-based insurance and health care company HealthPartners with a consent order for allegedly violating laws related to mental health parity. MPR’s Michelle Wiley reports state and federal laws prohibit health insurance companies from evaluating mental health diagnoses or treatments more stringently than they do for other forms of care. “This is one example of our commitment to enforcing mental health parity laws and making sure that Minnesotans can get access to the coverage that they've paid for,” said Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold. “We want to make sure that people have fewer barriers, and this is a way to do that.” The decision is based on a market conduct exam performed by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The order alleges that HealthPartners violated these parity laws “by excluding some coverage for residential mental health treatment before 2018,” according to the release. The state also says the company reconsidered claim denials for medical and surgical procedures more frequently than denials related to mental health care, and that the company did not “document its internal coverage reviews or meet required timelines.” The order was signed on May 1. In a statement, HealthPartners said it shares the state's goal of mental health parity and agrees on the plan that's been set to address the state's concerns.
The Office of the Legislative Auditor found some problems with the way some offices spent money during the COVID-19 emergency. The Star Tribune reports: The purchases were made in 2020 and 2021 during an unprecedented public health emergency, and amid time pressures to respond to the spread of COVID-19. State agencies still had responsibilities to ensure the public's money was well-spent, perhaps even more so as emergency increases in state and federal funding raised the risk of misuse, said Lori Leysen, a financial audit deputy in the Office of the Legislative Auditor. "Having strong controls is even more important than ever," she said, "because you're creating the potential opportunity for fraud, waste and abuse." The audit spot-checked about a third of the 637 state agency purchases coded as emergency responses to the pandemic. The resulting report, published Thursday, also called out the Minnesota Department of Health for inaccurate inventory records compared to its actual supplies of facemasks, gowns, COVID-19 tests and vaccines. A manual count found the discrepancies, which could leave the state confused about its actual needs. Responses from agencies generally defended their work, noting that the highlighted purchases all complied with state laws — even if they deviated from usual practices.
Starting this summer, Prince fans will be able to take a cruise down a highway named in his honor. The Minnesota Senate voted 55-5 Thursday to pass a bill that designates a seven-mile stretch of Highway 5 as Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway. The bill heads next to Gov. Tim Walz for his signature. The highway runs past the performing artist’s Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen. Prince died in 2016 from an opioid overdose. His longtime friend Mark Webster proposed the highway name change in Prince’s honor. Webster celebrated the bill’s passage at the Capitol on Thursday. It passed the Minnesota House of Representatives with unanimous support last month. “What I've known about Prince, Prince never asked nobody for anything,” Webster said. “I think this is one of the greatest gifts we can give him. The city of Chanhassen, state of Minnesota, the world – he deserves every bit of this.”
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