Last week, the six House Appropriation committees reported their budget bills in long hearings to the full Budget Committee. Many difficult decisions had to be made due to the declining revenue environment and the fact that we must balance our budget each year. For the next several weeks, the Budget Committee will review, debate and amend all 13 budget bills before referring them to the House floor for passage. Wise and prudent financial decisions by the General Assembly during the past six years have put Missouri in a much better fiscal position than most other states. Missouri is one of only seven states to still have a AAA bond rating, which has saved the state hundreds of millions of dollars in interest payments.
Also last week, the House passed a piece of true healthcare cost reform legislation with overwhelming support. HB 1498 requires health insurance providers to promptly pay claims put forth by doctors and hospitals for services on behalf of patients. This is a common sense reform that will improve healthcare in Missouri and will reduce costs and inefficiency. By delaying the return on health insurance claims, patients suffer. The cost of these delays is passed onto the consumer and this ends up being an extreme inefficiency in our healthcare system. Currently, only two-thirds of claims are processed within sixty (60) of the claim. This excellent piece of compromise legislation will change that and make the entire system more efficient, reliable and cost conscious. Our doctors and dentists should not be forced to wait on payment for months on end. Healthcare providers do the work needed to keep Missourians healthy and they should be paid for it.
Also last week, the House passed HB 1675, which creates an act that will help Missouri bring manufacturing jobs to our state. This bill allows companies that create new manufacturing jobs in Missouri to keep half of the withholding tax they would normally pay for 10 years if they invest at least $50,000 per full-time employee on factory improvements for a new product. It is not about saving jobs in failing industries but creating new ones by encouraging Missouri manufacturing companies to expand their operations in this state with new products and production lines. The competition for bringing new jobs to this state is a fierce one. We are not above competing with other states for jobs. We should do all we can to encourage businesses to expand in our state so we can get more Missourians working. The Manufacturing Jobs Act is another tool we can use to attract serious manufacturing jobs and allow us to foster business growth to allow us to compete on the global market.
I am always happy to hear from you on any questions or concerns you may have. You may reach me at my Capitol office by phone at (573)751-4077; by e-mail at don.ruzicka@house.mo.gov or by mail at House Post Office, 201 W. Capitol Ave., Jefferson City, MO 65101.