By: Cirien Saadeh

Written as part of a partnership with the Minnesota Women’s Press.

HF 1279 was discussed by the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee on February 28, to establish new state rules for paying medical examination costs for sexual assault cases. Chief author Rep. Heather Edelson (DFL–District 50A) introduced the bill, with the partnership of the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association, Office of Justice Programs, Minnesota Hospital Association, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She indicated that 34 states have a state-funded approach.

The intention of the bill, Edelson said, is to create a state fund to pay the health care system for the medical forensic exams they provide to sexual assault victims. Currently these exams are paid for by the county where the assault took place, but that has proven inconsistent. “The state fund approach will help ensure that victim-survivors are not billed in error or surprised by a bill refused by a county payer,” said Edelson. “The bill also ensures that evidence is collected at these exams and is tested in a timely manner.”

Sheriff Brian Cruze, Meeker County, testified on behalf of the bill. The cost of these medical exams ranges from $400 to $11,000 (that is not a typo). “We’re committed to victim-survivors receiving those exams at no cost, but the reality is we don’t have the budgets that can sustain these costs and the huge increases that we’re seeing as of late.”

Em Westerlund, Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, testified: “With 87 different county payers all located in different departments, many issues arise. Shifts in staffing, budgetary constraints, and confusion about obligations are all challenges that can result in inconsistent or disparate payments.”