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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Joyce Peppin

281 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7806

For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529

Posted: 2005-12-08 00:00:00
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NEWS COLUMN

A visit with former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson ------------- MINNESOTA AN INNOVATOR IN EFFORTS TO CONTAIN HEALTH CARE COSTS

By Joyce Peppin
State Representative, District 32A

Last week, I had the opportunity to talk about health care with Tommy Thompson, the former U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services and the former Wisconsin Governor. You might remember Thompson as the person who pioneered Wisconsin’s landmark welfare-to-work program which became a model for welfare reform here in Minnesota and elsewhere.

Now Gov Thompson is tackling health care costs as the leader of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, a think tank in Washington, D.C. His organization is advising policymakers nationwide about ways to constrain health care costs. He said 20 percent of chronic patients are using up 80 percent of health care resources, largely due to illnesses related to tobacco use, diabetes and obesity. The number one goal for health care providers and policymakers then, he said, should be to put more resources into prevention

Gov. Thompson called Minnesota an innovator in health care cost containment, calling our state employee “tiered’ health system an exceptional example of how to improve health care delivery while holding down costs. Providers to the state employee heath care plan are evaluated by the state and grouped into four tiers, or levels. High-rated clinics and hospital – cited for cost control and efficiency – often offer services with lower deductibles. The result has been that low-rated providers are taking steps to hold costs down and improve services so they can attract health care customers. In addition, there have been few or no increases in health insurance premiums for state employees. Thomas urged legislators to extend this model to the private insurance market.

This year, Minnesota lawmakers passed reforms to help open up the health insurance market. By easing state mandates, it is hoped that small businesses that had been priced out of the health insurance market would now be able to afford to provide basic health care packages for their employees.

Health care premium costs and deductibles are an ongoing concern with many middle-income Minnesota families. I will continue to work on solutions such as those outlined by Gov. Thompson that help reduce Minnesotans’ health care costs.

Budget surplus
You heard the good news – the state has a $700 budget surplus based on November projections by the state finance department. Keep in mind, that money is dedicated to an important education “shift” account that legislators used to help bring the state of the budget deficit of 2003. That’s great news for our schools. More, there’s an additional $317 million in a tax relief account, money that was left over after closing the budget books on the 2005 fiscal year.

We have a surplus because we followed a simple formula: hold the line on income taxes and invest wisely in Minnesota’s priorities. We now have a stronger economy and more jobs, and more dollars coming into the state’s coffers. Let’s continue to manage the state budget wisely.

Rep. Peppin represents District 32A, which includes the communities of Corcoran, Dayton, Greenfield, Hanover, Rogers, Hassan Township, and southwestern Maple Grove. Peppin invites anyone to share their questions or comments about state government with her. She may be reached by email at rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn; by phone at (651) 296-7806; or by U.S. Mail at 411 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155.

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