Progressive Caucus disrupts Walz budget conference over undocumented migrant insurance

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - While lawmakers reached a budget deal on Thursday, not everyone is happy about the compromises it took to get there. 

The Minnesota DFL Progressive Caucus held a news conference after disrupting the governor's budget deal announcement. 

Raw footage of that news conference will be uploaded above. 

READ MORE: Minnesota legislators, Gov. Walz reach deal on state budget targets

DFL news conference on health insurance for undocumented immigrants 

Big picture view:

Lawmakers with the Minnesota DFL Progressive Caucus gave impassioned statements about their refusal to support the compromise. 

Co-Chair of the Minnesota House People of Color and Indigenous Caucus Cedric Frazier (DFL-New Hope) spoke about not wanting to lose the progress made over the last two years, saying "We're talking about tens of thousands of individuals that will be taken off that will lose access to healthcare at the end of this calendar year. What that means is that we've got individuals who are currently receiving cancer treatment, that are currently receiving dialysis care, those individuals will lose access to that care. That means we will lose some of those individuals." 

Minnesota State Sentaor Alice Mann (DFL- Bloominton) then spoke about the impact cutting healthcare for undocumented migrants would have. 

"There is no fiscal responsibility when you do this," Mann said. "When you take away people's healthcare, they end up in the emergency department, it costs money for everyone in the community […] So what we have is a party who is willing to take insulin away from diabetics, inhalers from people with asthma, cancer treatment from people who just want a few more years with their children. All for political points."

READ MORE: Surprise enrollments heat up MN Care for undocumented immigrants battle

Mann also said the budget for the program that provides healthcare for undocumented immigrants is "less than projected," but FOX 9's Corin Hoggard pointed out that the budget is actually 32% more than projected to date. 

Mann disputed that, saying the money for the program is in the budget. 

"They said it was going to cost $200 million over four years, they modeled that after an MCO (Managed Care Operations) capitated program, they said that 5,000 people would sign up in the first signing period, and they said there was 40,000 undocumented people in Minnesota, about 67% of those people would be eligible for this program, which would put the program at 27,000 to 28,000 people. Right now, 20,000 people have signed up, yes they signed up faster but still well within the estimate of DHS (Department of Human Services). We are now doing a fee for service program, not a capitated program. The capitated program said it was going to cost $7,000 per person, that's not what's happening, so far the program has cost less than $4 million. It is costing less than what was projected, if we double our numbers, we would still be at less than what was projected, the $200 million mark." 

When pressed again, Mann sighed and asked, "Do you want me to start over? Again, because the sign up has been faster, which just shows you the need that's out there of people not getting the care that they need, but all the numbers are still well within and well below the projected costs at the four-year mark." 

By the numbers:

Data from the Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services shows that as of late April, there were 20,187 people enrolled 4,306 of which had any claims for the program, with a total cost of $3.9 million in paid claims.

That is about $966,000 higher than what was projected in the February forecast.

It is still lower than what GOP lawmakers are claiming, but not as low as Mann said during the news conference. 

DFL Progressive Caucus disrupts budget conference

The backstory:

Members of the Minnesota DFL Progressive Caucus spoke out against a compromise in the state budget deal that involves insurance benefits for undocumented immigrants in the state. 

While Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was speaking to reporters on the state budget deal, members of the caucus could be heard banging on the door and chanting when they weren't let inside. 

What they're saying:

Caucus members could be heard chanting "One Minnesota, right?!" in reference to a Walz campaign slogan and budget plan that was signed in 2023. They also banged on the locked door to the room holding the news conference.

When a reporter asked Gov. Walz about the lawmakers protesting during the news conference, he responded by saying, "It says we got a lot of work to do, this is what happens. You heard this in here, the passion on this, and I'm pretty certaion this is around the healthcare issue. And I'm not going to sugarcoat how difficult this was. These lawmakers are there, they have their voice heard, we'll vote on this. We didn't expect everybody to be happy in this."

Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman then spoke over the crowd's chants, saying, "Our caucus is full of immigrants and children of immigrants, and this is a deeply personal issue. They know people who are receiving medical care whose lives were saved because of access to Minnesota care for undocumented immigrants starting on January 1st, and they know that these individuals' lives are threatened by the removal of that health care. And it is personal and it is visceral and it is warranted." 

The banging then grew louder with the crowd continuing to yell. 

"They are our neighbors," said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy. "And we have made a decision in a compromise that suggests that they are other and that it is something that people are going to object to."

Dig deeper:

Some lawmakers previously said a lack of a budget deal would lead to a special session, with the deadline being Monday at midnight. 

This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available. 

PoliticsImmigrationSt. Paul