Delivering on Health Care for All

The Current Situation

Health care is a critical link to our economic success as a state and as a nation. When someone thinks about starting a business, they worry about health care costs. When someone thinks about changing jobs, they worry if they'll be able to keep their health care coverage. When someone gets sick or injured, more and more people worry that their insurance company will raise their rates or drop their coverage altogether. It doesn’t make sense, and it stands counter to our moral principles and our economic security. Nearly one in 10 Minnesotans is uninsured, which amounts to nearly 465,000 Minnesotans. That's larger than the City of Minneapolis. That's frightening, and it's wrong.

The Solution

We need to reform our health care system and implement Federal Health Care Reform the right way to ensure stable and secure health coverage for all Minnesotans. We need to face budget realities and focus on innovative ways of delivering care more effectively and cutting costs, but we must also remember that getting people the care they need will lower emergency room visits and ultimately save us money.

Implement Federal Health Care Reform the Right Way and Make Sure Every Minnesotan has Affordable Care

All Minnesotans need access to quality affordable care and as governor Matt Entenza is committed to reforming our health care system to make this a reality. There is great opportunity for Minnesota with federal health care reform to leverage federal dollars, and we need a governor who will implement this the right way. We also need to explore ways of speeding up the process so that those with preexisting conditions are not denied coverage, and that people are not being discriminated against by gender when it comes to insurance rates.

Contain Health Care Costs

We need to ensure that the majority of health care dollars are going towards health care. We need to work with stakeholders to facilitate transitioning health care from a volume-based industry into one that is more value-based. Such innovative ways of delivering health care as virtual care (visiting a doctor or nurse practitioner via the internet rather than making the trip in person), integrated care models and accountable care organizations (ACOs) are going to be important in this effort.

Fight For Affordable Prescription Drug Prices

As drug prices continue to sky-rocket, people with serious medical conditions get put at greater and greater risk. We need a system that leverages the states’ buying power to help control these costs and give people some relief on their medical expenses.

Those opposed to fundamentally changing our health care system don't want people to understand that our current system not only rations health care by denying or limiting coverage, but that is also hamstringing our economy. Health care costs take up a more and more of our state and national GDP every year, and under our current system there is no way to manage them. Unless we have meaningful reform, more Minnesotans will suffer and our government will remain unable to meet the needs of the 21^st century.