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State Representative Patti Fritz
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8237
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
Column/LTE
DISTRICT ONE HOSPITAL WILL TAKE A BIG HIT UNDER GOVERNOR'S BUDGET PROPOSAL
For most of my adult life, I have been involved in the health care field. I have witnessed first hand what it takes to provide adequate care to patients, and I'm familiar with the financial challenges for both the provider and the patient. Figures that were released this week indicate how the Governor's budget proposal will present even greater challenges for our hospitals.
The cuts come from two primary areas: reimbursement rates to hospitals through Medical Assistance, General Assistance Medical Care and MinnesotaCare programs will be reduced by 5%, and eligibility guidelines for MinnesotaCare will be changed.
Adults without children will be cut from MinnesotaCare, affecting 234 people in Rice County. Unless they make less than $580 a month or have health care expenses that bring their income down to that level, they will be cut. This change will cause 27,000 people statewide to lose their health insurance.
When people lose their health care coverage, they often put off seeking treatment when they first get sick, making the emergency room the first stop for health care. ER care is more expensive and often goes unpaid, causing all of our health care costs and insurance premiums to increase.
These proposed cuts will have a staggering impact on hospitals that are already struggling to survive. The cost to District One Hospital alone will be $537,502 in 2006-2007.
We can't continue to cut health care services as a way to balance the budget. Another round has the very real potential of forcing some of our hospitals to close. Clearly, this budget proposal is not an answer to the growing health care crisis our state is facing.
We all need to think long and hard before we take another step toward underfunding and undermining one of our core Minnesota values, that of providing adequate and affordable health care for all of our citizens.
Patti Fritz
State Representative District 26B
News Items
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- Rep. Fritz: Homeowners, Farmers Need Property Tax Relief - (Posted: 2012-05-01 00:00:00)
- Rep. Fritz: Let’s Vote on a Bonding Bill that Benefits All - (Posted: 2012-04-19 00:00:00)
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