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State Representative Matt Dean
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-3018
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
PRESS RELEASE
KEEP MINNESOTA MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR HEALTH CARE
St. Paul – Today representative Matt Dean (R-Dellwood) and Representative Laura Brod (R-New Prague) discussed the recent move by the House Democrats toward a government run healthcare system in Minnesota.
The move, which was set into motion by an amendment placed onto the Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill, by Representative Ken Tschumper and Rep. Neva Walker, would create a commission to study the best way to create, maintain, and fund a government run, universal pool for everyone in the state. The Democrats placed this amendment onto the bill by using a rare parliamentary rule to cut off debate in committee. Republicans on the committee were strongly fighting to, at the very least, provide balance on the commission. Republicans tried to offer additions to the Commission to ensure that small businesses would have a voice. They tried to ensure that farm families would have a voice. They tried to ensure that taxpayers would have a voice. They tried to ensure that child care advocates would have a voice. In response, the Democrats kept trying to put more union representation and more representation of those who support a government run system.
The membership of the commission, which is heavily weighted toward supporters of a single-payer, government run healthcare system, essentially would be such that the results are already in. According to Rep. Matt Dean, “It makes no sense to put forward a commission or study with a group that is as skewed as this one. The fix is already in.” “In looking at the make-up of the group which was put forward by Rep. Tschumper and his Democratic colleagues, this amendment was one small step toward a commission, but one giant leap to a government run healthcare system in Minnesota," added Representative Laura Brod.
The commission would consist of 11 DFL-leaning members and 4 GOP-leaning members. This blatantly biased group would, based on what we have seen so far this session, have no regard for the wallets of Minnesota’s citizens and does not appear to have any connection to a market driven, consumer based approach.
One supporter of this amendment is the Minnesota Universal Healthcare Coalition, which promotes “Medicare for all.” This group thinly veils their promotion of government run health care by calling it a single payer system. This type of system has many unknowns and has the potential of costing citizens billions without any assurances or steps toward increased quality or containment of costs.
Another concern with the Health and Human Service Omnibus bill was the rollbacks of the MFIP eligibility reforms that have been worked on over the past number of years. House Republicans made a number of moves in committee to reprioritize the dollars used for the rollbacks to fund nursing homes and ICFMRs which should have properly received a higher priority than the bill provides. “This bill expands our cash assistance benefits for people on welfare and moves toward dismantling the welfare to work incentives that have been working and in place since President Bill Clinton’s reform efforts,” said Rep. Matt Dean.
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