MN HF3980

Creates a health care response account in the state treasury with appropriations to the commissioner of health to make grants and no-interest loans to eligible providers (ambulance services, hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities, health systems) for costs related to planning, preparing for, or responding to communicable disease outbreaks.

Establishes a provider grant and loan program allowing the commissioner to issue grants and loans when a communicable disease outbreak occurs or is likely to occur and meets specified criteria, with loan repayment beginning no later than one year after issuance and amortized within five years.

Specifies allowable grant uses including staff overtime and hiring, training, protective equipment, screening and testing procedures, patient outreach, emergency transportation, temporary IT systems, and other outbreak-related expenses that cannot generate income after the outbreak ends.

Requires eligible providers accepting grants or loans for COVID-19 to agree not to bill uninsured patients for services related to screening for, testing for, or treating COVID-19.

Transfers $79,300,000 from the general fund to the health care response account and $20,000,000 to the public health response contingency account for provider grants, loans, and emergency health care costs.