Republicans and Governor Tim Walz are headed for a showdown over the two percent medical provider tax, set to sunset at the end of the year but which Walz wants extended. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka argues it increases health care costs. He says, “The provider tax has already been… meant to go away, and for it to *not* do that, we actually have to do legislation to do something different, which we’re not really favorable towards.” The governor responds Republicans’ stance “is a non-starter. That is unacceptable, and I don’t think any of them want to accept the tens of thousands of Minnesotans that would be thrown off health care and the additional cost that would be added for unreimbursed care.”
From Gov. Walz’s media scrum, talking about Republicans’ resistance to extending the provider tax:
Response from Senate Majority Leader Gazelka and Rochester Senator Carla Nelson: