Improve access to rural Minnesota health care

 

The purpose of this bill is to make healthcare more accessible in the rural areas of Minnesota.

 

Access to health care could be the difference between life and death. For example, the average drive time to a

healthcare facility in rural areas is over 20 minutes, limiting Minnesotans' access to care. According to the MN

Department of Health, Non-accessible health care to Minnesotans can lead to worse health issues, increased costs, and a

lower quality of life. Adding retail health centers/walk-in clinics would be beneficial.

 

Health care facilities- clinics, hospitals, and retail health clinics/walk-in clinics

Retail health clinics- small health care facilities located in retail stores that serve minor health issues (example

clinics- CVS Minute Clinic, Rite Aid Health Clinic, and Walgreens Health Care Clinic).

 

150 million dollars per year to start up health care facilities in the rural areas of Minnesota will expand everyday

health care to millions of Minnesotans. The funding for this would come from the state corporation franchise tax being

increased by .5% which would supply 150 million dollars annually.

 

If a corporation in Minnesota does not pay the taxes required by this bill, a 6% annual penalty will be added to the

unpaid amount. There will also be a 5% penalty if the tax is not paid within 30 days. After that, an additional 5%

penalty will be added every 60 days if the corporation still has not paid what it owes.

 

90 days after the bill is passed