State facility for the mentally ill risks losing license over turmoil The Minnesota Security Hospital shows little sign of turning around a trend of worsening problems and new tensions that have surfaced, according to employees interviewed by MPR News and previously unreleased data from the state Department of Human Services.February 28, 2012
Two bills regulating abortion advance in Senate The Senate Health and Human Services Committee today advanced two bills that would place restrictions on clinics that provide abortions.February 27, 2012
Lawmakers urged to revoke 20 percent pay cut on personal care assistants Some personal care assistants in Minnesota are urging lawmakers to revoke a new law that cuts their pay by 20 percent. The Legislature last year reduced personal care assistant wages paid to family members.February 17, 2012
House committee chair wants to end hospitality tax The Republican chair of the House Tax Committee said he would like to end the hospitality taxes Minneapolis has pledged to a Vikings stadium.February 13, 2012
Anti-tax group says lawmakers broke pledge A leading anti-tax group in Minnesota is criticizing some of the most conservative members of the Legislature for breaking a pledge not to raise taxes.February 3, 2012
Report: Shortchanging IRS budget hurts taxpayers Congress is damaging the Internal Revenue
Service by shortchanging its budget, making it harder for the
agency to help taxpayers, detect fraud and bolster revenue
collection even as budget deficits surge, a government watchdog
said Wednesday.January 11, 2012
Emergency health care recipients cut off this week About 2,300 Minnesota residents who received emergency medical assistance from a program of last resort have lost that coverage as of this week. The program paid for a variety of health care services including doctor visits, chemotherapy and dialysis. The reduction in services is an outcome of the budget deal that ended last summer's state government shutdown.January 10, 2012
America hits the brakes on health care spending Health spending stabilized as a share of the nation's economy in 2010 after two back-to-back years of historically low growth.January 9, 2012
Many US communities are blocking medical marijuana More and more states are saying yes to medical marijuana. But local governments are increasingly using their laws to keep dispensaries out.January 9, 2012
'Use-it-or-lose-it' health account spending rule could get lost The use-it-or-lose component of flexible spending accounts sends many people racing to use the money by year's end. But there is some chance the use-it-or-lose rule could be overturned, perhaps next year.December 30, 2011
Forced to Choose: What we learned about community budgets in tough times We launched our Forced to Choose series nearly three months ago with the knowledge that Minnesota communities are being pressed to make harder and harder decisions about their futures. As we wrap up this local-government tax and budget season, we've asked for a takeaway from the three reporters covering the story.December 29, 2011