Daily Digest: Feds give and take on health care

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday, which is also known by some as hump day. You haven't made it over the hump yet, but the hump is in sight, kind of like, I imagine, if you were about to climb aboard a camel. But I digress. Here's the Digest.

1. Minnesota is at risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for the state's health care program for the working poor as it pursues a waiver aimed at lowering premiums for people buying insurance through the state exchange. Gov. Mark Dayton wrote Tuesday to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price urging President Donald Trump's administration to ''reverse this very destructive financial penalty'' to MinnesotaCare, which covers some people who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private coverage.   Dayton wrote that the state had been told it would see $369 million in cuts to MinnesotaCare funding as a consequence of approving a reinsurance program.  ''Essentially, we are being penalized for doing exactly what the President and you have been encouraging us to do: take new reform initiatives,'' the Democratic governor wrote.  (AP via MPR News)

2. Attorneys general from most states, including Minnesota are broadening their investigation into the opioid industry as a nationwide overdose crisis continues to claim thousands of lives. They announced Tuesday that they had served subpoenas requesting information from five companies that make powerful prescription painkiller demanded information from three distributors. Forty-one attorneys general are involved in various parts of the civil investigation. The probe into marketing and sales practices seeks to find out whether the industry’s own actions worsened the epidemic. (AP)

3. Minnesota lawmakers billed the state for more than $335,200 in housing and other expense reimbursements from July 1 to Sept. 1 — a two-month period when the Legislature was not in session for a single day — according to court documents filed in the ongoing legal battle between Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders. A handful of expense reimbursements to lawmakers exceeded $30,000. Other spending items range from payroll and office expenses to State Fair tickets ($3,750) and flowers ($482.) The information disclosed does not link the expense reimbursements to the 201 individual members of the Legislature, or indicate if the sometimes-hefty expenses were racked up by Republicans or Democrats. (Star Tribune)

4. Minnesota government leaders expressed reluctance Tuesday about devising new rules around unpermitted Capitol protests because the demonstrations are an exercise of free speech, despite some this spring that escalated into violent confrontations that forced the State Patrol to muster extra troopers to contain. The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security, which includes representatives of all three branches of government, discussed whether the complex is adequately staffed to handle such events and if any policies need revisiting to minimize disruptions to meetings or permitted assemblies. The panel declined to put forward any changes, though at least one member raised the idea of cordoning off defined spaces for protests. (MPR News)

5. St. Paul may soon add menthol, mint, wintergreen and fruit to the list of flavored tobacco products that can only be sold in adults-only tobacco shops. The change would effectively ban menthol cigarettes from most store shelves. Council members say tobacco companies have spent years targeting young people — especially young people of color, as well as the gay and lesbian community — with flavored tobacco products, and it’s time to turn the tide against disparate health outcomes. The proposal has drawn support from public health groups, but convenience store owners don't like it. (Pioneer Press)

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