In the early hours of Tuesday, the House passed a bill to provide $200 million for health care providers in need of support to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
HF3980/SF4334* was passed 108-0 at about 3:10 a.m. after the Senate passed it 55-0 less than an hour earlier. It now goes to Gov. Tim Walz for an expected signature.
“This bill is … truly urgent,” said Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester), who sponsors the bill with Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake). “We are potentially in a very dire situation.”
The bill would provide two funding pools:
- $50 million under the state’s public health response contingency account, which has rules built in that would allow the money to get where it’s needed quickly; and
- $150 million to create a health care response fund in the state treasury, which would be used to make grants and take a little longer to reach the beneficiaries. Any money left over on Feb. 1, 2021 would be returned to the General Fund and the section would sunset on June 30, 2022.
Both would be accessible by care providers including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, nursing facilities, health care facilities, ambulance services, and settings in which assisted living services or health care services are provided.