1.1 	A resolution
1.2 	urging the Governor to request the Secretary of the United States Department of Health 
1.3 	and Human Services to designate people with intellectual and developmental disabilities 
1.4 	as a medically underserved population in the state of Minnesota.
1.5 	WHEREAS, the federal government defines a "medically underserved population" according 
1.6 	to a formula that weighs a population's lack of primary care providers, experience with poverty, 
1.7 	increased infant mortality, and percentage of people age 65 and older; and
1.8 	WHEREAS, as a population, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities meet 
1.9 	most of these criteria; and
1.10 	WHEREAS, research shows that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities 
1.11 	experience significant health disparities, poorer health, poorer health outcomes, higher prevalence 
1.12 	of adverse, chronic, and secondary conditions, a lack of access to care, higher poverty rates, and 
1.13 	increased mortality; and
1.14 	WHEREAS, the issue lies in the fact that the designation as a medically underserved 
1.15 	population requires that the group occupies the same neighborhood, community, census tract, or 
1.16 	geographic area; and
1.17 	WHEREAS, this requirement prevents people with intellectual and developmental disabilities 
1.18 	from receiving a medically underserved population designation because 40 years of civil rights 
1.19 	advocacy, antidiscrimination laws, and court decisions have been dedicated to their integration into 
1.20 	communities throughout the country; and
1.21 	WHEREAS, designation as a medically underserved population allows people access to a 
1.22 	multitude of programs, services, funding streams, and benefits at the federal, state, and local levels; 
1.23 	and
1.24 	WHEREAS, specifically, the designation can offer eligibility for special federal funding, 
1.25 	grants, and waivers; grants from the federal government, state governments, private foundations, 
2.1 	and nongovernmental organizations that give funding preferences to those working with this 
2.2 	population; loan repayment programs and higher reimbursement rates for providers serving this 
2.3 	population; and funding of targeted research that focuses on this population; and
2.4 	WHEREAS, consequently, the lack of a medically underserved population designation 
2.5 	excludes people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from countless programs, services, 
2.6 	funding streams, and benefits; and
2.7 	WHEREAS, most of the requirements for this designation date back to the 1960s and 1970s; 
2.8 	however, in 1986, Congress added a provision that allows a governor to request the designation of 
2.9 	a population within his or her state from the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 
2.10 	Services under certain circumstances, a process known as the Governor's Exceptional Medically 
2.11 	Underserved Population; and
2.12 	WHEREAS, this process allows designation for unique circumstances and populations that 
2.13 	do not fit the conventional definition or rating system for the determination of a medically 
2.14 	underserved population; and
2.15 	WHEREAS, a medically underserved population designation would be a significant step 
2.16 	towards addressing the unmet health needs in this population and would officially recognize people 
2.17 	with intellectual and developmental disabilities as stakeholders in their own health care, entitled to 
2.18 	concrete actions to decrease their health disparities, improve their health, and reduce barriers to 
2.19 	their health care; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.20 	BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it:
2.21 	(1) acknowledges the significant health disparities experienced by people with intellectual 
2.22 	and developmental disabilities and recognizes the benefits that could be realized with federal 
2.23 	designation as a medically underserved population; and
2.24 	(2) strongly urges the Governor to request the Secretary of the United States Department of 
2.25 	Health and Human Services to designate people with intellectual and developmental disabilities as 
2.26 	a medically underserved population in the State of Minnesota.
2.27 	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is directed 
2.28 	to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to Tim Walz, Governor of the State of 
2.29 	Minnesota.