1.1 	A resolution
1.2 	urging the President and Congress to fully fund Medicaid and oppose harmful cuts to 
1.3 	this crucial and much-needed program.
1.4 	WHEREAS, rising health care costs and the threat of cuts to Medicaid, which provides vital 
1.5 	services to 1.2 million Minnesotans, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities, are 
1.6 	one of the most pressing issues facing our state; and
1.7 	WHEREAS, one in five Minnesotans get their health care through Medicaid and 
1.8 	MinnesotaCare. Medicaid covers about 1.2 million Minnesotans, more than Medicare and more 
1.9 	than any single commercial insurer; and
1.10 	WHEREAS, Medicaid covers services for 41 percent of children in Minnesota and is the 
1.11 	primary source of payment for those needing long-term care services, such as nursing home services; 
1.12 	and
1.13 	WHEREAS, Medicaid covers three out of ten births in Minnesota, and has an even greater 
1.14 	impact on the Black and American Indian communities, covering eight out of ten Black births and 
1.15 	nine out of ten American Indian births; and
1.16 	WHEREAS, Minnesota has been a leader in providing access to health care and now faces 
1.17 	serious risk from the drastic and unworkable Medicaid funding reductions proposed in the federal 
1.18 	budget. Deep or severe cuts to this crucial program would be devastating for Minnesotans, 
1.19 	jeopardizing care for vulnerable populations and undermining already lean areas of service that the 
1.20 	legislature has been working to make more efficient for many years; and
1.21 	WHEREAS, under current Medicaid financing and waiver structures, Minnesota has achieved 
1.22 	improved outcomes through innovation and efficiency, including helping people with disabilities 
1.23 	live more independently. Deep cuts would threaten this progress and severely strain the state budget, 
1.24 	with no alternative funding to offset the loss of federal dollars; and
2.1 	WHEREAS, health care is a major employer in our state, including in rural Minnesota. 
2.2 	Reductions in already-low payment rates would limit access to care, reduce compensation and 
2.3 	services, and significantly harm rural economies and the rapidly growing aging population in Greater 
2.4 	Minnesota; and
2.5 	WHEREAS, Medicaid is a reflection of our shared responsibility to care for older adults, 
2.6 	people with disabilities and mental health needs, children, and low-income families, and harmful 
2.7 	federal funding reductions undermine that responsibility and threaten the health, stability, and 
2.8 	dignity of those who rely on this essential program; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.9 	BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the President 
2.10 	of the United States and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress to fully fund Medicaid 
2.11 	and oppose harmful cuts to this crucial and much-needed program.
2.12 	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is directed 
2.13 	to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States, the 
2.14 	President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United 
2.15 	States House of Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.