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State Representative Tony Cornish
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4240
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
GUEST COLUMN
THANKFULLY, REPUBLICANS STUCK TO THEIR GUNS ON HEALTH CARE VETO OVERRIDE ATTEMPT
Have you ever heard the old saying “sometimes it’s better to stick to your guns?”
Minnesota House Republicans heeded this advice recently, and I’m sure glad we did.
The Legislature had recently passed a health care proposal that would replace the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program – which was growing at the unsustainable level of 30% every biennium – that would cover our poorest Minnesotans.
While many Republicans voted for this new plan, many did so thinking the final product would be improved after more cost saving reforms were added in a final compromise proposal crafted by the House and Senate. That didn’t happen, so Governor Pawlenty vetoed the plan and our House Speaker – who is running as a Democratic candidate for governor herself – called for a veto override vote.
In the days leading up to the override, the partisan scare tactics were taken to a new level.
I was told that if I voted to sustain the Governor’s veto, I was doing nothing more than carrying the Governor’s water; that I hated poor people; that the GAMC debate would be gone for good; that I would permanently cut off 35,000 people from health care; and that I would be un-Christian.
All of these claims were blatantly false. Everyone knew, even at the time of the vote, that Republicans and Democrats were working on a better compromise proposal even before the override vote took place. Lawmakers knew there would be a better solution if the override vote went down in flames, which it did.
But that didn’t stop the House Democrat Majority Leader from dialing the rhetoric up a notch. He wanted the status quo to continue, and basically told us we had two options, a vote for poor people or a vote for the governor, because there would be no “magic” reform achievement this session.
Four days later he was eating his words, as determined Democrats and Republicans refused to take no for an answer and worked together on a better plan for all Minnesotans. It’s a bipartisan agreement where both parties can claim satisfaction.
The compromise - a new system creating hospital-based partnerships with county agencies called “coordinated care organizations – will save the taxpayers $719 million in comparison to the previous program. It will also prevent $19 million in cuts to county mental health, child protection, and case management that had previously been targeted. And most importantly, it gives Minnesota’s low-income residents the help they need.
It’s refreshing to accomplish reform rather than just cutting funds from a program temporarily and having to deal with the same out of control spending growth during the next session. We achieved this by insisting on massive cost savings to taxpayers while preserving coverage for low-income Minnesotans. The cost of the old program was skyrocketing out of control, and in its place will soon be a nation-leading reform plan that is smarter, more efficient and dramatically less expensive.
None of this would have happened had House Republicans not stuck to their guns.
News Items
- REP. CORNISH ANNOUNCES REDISTRICTING PLAN - (Posted: 2012-02-23 00:00:00)
- REP. CORNISH INVESTIGATES LACK OF TRIBAL CASINO GAMBLING ENFORCEMENT - (Posted: 2012-02-02 00:00:00)
- REP. CORNISH AUTHORS FAMILIAL DNA PROPOSAL - (Posted: 2011-04-14 00:00:00)
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