Pawlenty Keeps Missing the Point on Health Care
September 11th, 2009 at 2:11 pm By Chris Shields
In what is surely a pander to a rigid, ideologically conservative base, Governor Tim Pawlenty suggested invoking “states rights” to exempt Minnesota from President Obama’s bold health care initiative. Constitutional debate aside, the Governor unfortunately is missing the point about why Minnesota’s health care system is a national model.
First, only non-profit health insurance providers and HMOs can do business in Minnesota. Despite the Governor’s desire to let for-profit companies make money off sick Minnesotans, the non-profit model alone significantly reduces the cost of health insurance premiums.
Secondly, the federal government helps Minnesota significantly. In 2007, Minnesota received $3.1 billion in Medicaid funding. We’re due another $84.1 million in federal dollars to cover Minnesota’s children. Additionally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act backstopped Minnesota’s budget deficit by sending $1.8 billion to insure low-income Minnesotans.
Finally, because the federal government covers the poorest of the poor, Minnesota is able to bridge the gap with MinnesotaCare. Created in the late 90s by a DFL-controlled Legislature and Republican Governor, MinnesotaCare is a state insurance plan for working Minnesotans who make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but can’t afford other means of health insurance. The plan is paid for through a small provider tax and sliding-scale premiums paid by MinnesotaCare enrollees.
As a result, Minnesota has the third-lowest uninsured rate in the nation. Sadly, the Governor’s conservative policies have shown nothing but antipathy for our strong health care system. His health care proposals have either attempted to take away Minnesotans’ health insurance or outright eliminate MinnesotaCare. The time for pandering is over; let’s build on what’s working and move forward.
LikeTags: Governor Pawlenty, Health Care Reform, MinnesotaCare, President Obama
If this is working in Minnesota, WHY does the State require the legislation, funding and further reform from the Federal Government. Enact State’s Rights and let Minnesota operate and improve it’s own current system.
The 3.1 million in medicaid was paid for not by Minnesotans. The 84.1 million to cover children was NOT derived from Minnesotans. That funding belong back where it came from for each State to solve their own problems. What is good for California is not good for Minnesota. What is good for Minnesota is not good for Florida. Demanding more funding from the Federal Government is not and never will be the answer, period. Minnesota got to be a top state of insured peoples NOT by the assistance of the Federal Government, but by the practices, legislation and proposals of it’s own. Stealing 3.1 million from the Federal Government or other States only inhibits the budgets and problems of other States while Minnesota sits on top of number of people insured!
There are far less illegal immigrants in Minnesota as compared to several other States. If those in other States are to benefit from Federal Healthcare Reform, why does Minnesota’s top-notch Health Care coverage have to suffer among the masses if it something of an accomplishment!? State’s Right’s would prevent this!
Dan,
You missed a couple key points. First that’s 3.1 BILLION, not million. And it comes from Minnesotans, it’s just cycled through the federal budget. In fact, Minnesotans probably paid in more than the 3.1 billion that came back.
There’s a simple fact that all of us are missing. We do some things better collectively than we do individually. And the level of that collectivism does make a difference. We build roads better at the state level, but we collect usage fees for roads better at the national level. So the national government collects those fees and distributes it to the states. All the states would be worse off if one of the states totally neglected its interstate highways, so the national collective insists on standards for those highways.
Minnesota does a pretty good job of health care using money that is collected from Minnesotans by the national collective. The national collective distributes money to the states on a basis of population combined with need. Minnesota is not as needy as Alabama, possibly, and receives less per capita.
Still, collectively, our nation does a relatively poor job of health care. Fifty nations have lower infant mortality rates. Twenty five nations have higher life expectancy.
Yet, we pay a higher portion of our income on health care than any other nation, save one. One of the reasons for this is that we do not manage our health care system collectively. At least we try not to manage it collectively. Yet, most individuals manage their health care through the collective of their employment community. This has proven to be an inefficient model.
We need to start moving towards managing our health care system at higher collective levels in order to take advantage of the efficiencies available to larger groups when technology is applied.
I am so glad that Pawlenty is raising the effectiveness of the Tenth Amendment to reject
that Federal health care money, other examples of that dirty federal money: we will no longer have to take are those federal education funds from Washington D.C. nor do we have to take all of those Federal Highway funds. But most of all, we don’t have to take any of that Medicare or Medicaid money from Washington DC, and 10th amendment states rights will allow Minnesota reject Social Security funds — no one needs that federal money!
We can have our health care costs lowered by removing people eligible for MNcare as Gov. Pawlenty did in Minnesota. We can now be with the Southern asnd be the first Northern state to re-instate slavery and put slaves to work in our health care industry-that would cut down costs.
We missed out being on the states rights side in the last Civil War 150+ years ago and Pawlenty wants to make sure we’re on the state rights side this time. I am so glad that Pawlenty is looking forward to the past.
But oops! Pawlenty has changed his mind kinda, so on this on tv Sunday says he didn’t mean this in a legal sense – just a political sense! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Governor Pawlenty is the worst excuse for a governor the State of Minnesota has seen in a long, long time. He has become as crazy as the Republican Governors down South. What is wrong with Republicans is their ‘Do Nothing’ attitude. President George Bush had eight years to try and fix some of these problems- Health Care in particular and infrastructure in general and did nothing except make war. That’s crazy. The Republican answer to all problems is this: leave it alone and it will go away by itself. That’s crazy. We need some better, stronger leaders who aren’t afraid to step on toes and set a different course towards a better, more functional government. Business always talks about “economic growth” as if that is the be-all and end-all of every problem. I have news for them. The more people the worse these problems become! And if we don’t adapt and change along with that growth we will be overcome.
There are 3 things in life you can bet on. Death, taxes and change. That’s what is goofy about conservatism- especially Republican Conservatism: they don’t want things to change. Once again, I have news for them. Change will occur even if all the Conservative Republican pundits in existence line up in body armor to fight it. Change happens and people and institutions must adapt or perish. Businesses adapt to changing economics or they go bankrupt or get bought out.
Health care coverage for every woman, man and child in the U.S. (and for that matter, the World) carries endless possibilities for the improvement of life around the world. Control of diseases, control of birth rates, control of the need for endless amounts of infrastructure, elimination of slums, elimination of hunger and a global reduction in homelessness all have possible solutions if we pursue better health care. There is no excuse for not taking the steps required to provide universal coverage.