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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
NEWS COLUMN
Working for the Common Good
There is a theory, called "The Six Degrees of Separation", that has been turned into both a movie and a game. The basic premise is that all of us are connected by six steps or fewer. The most common application of this theory is the game often played using the actor, Kevin Bacon, as the example. To play the game, simply name another actor and find the shortest connection to Kevin Bacon. For example, Dean Martin was in How to Save A Marriage with Eli Wallach, and Eli Wallach was in Mystic River with Kevin Bacon. Out of over 726,000 actors and actresses, the majority of them are only 2.9 steps away from Kevin Bacon.
You may wonder why this is relevant to my role as a state legislator. I'm using it as a reminder that all of us are more closely connected than we realize. For example, while you may not know anyone who will be cut from MinnesotaCare, you probably do know someone who, in turn, knows someone else who will be cut. My actions may not always have direct consequences for my friends or family, but taken out a step or two, my vote will impact someone very much.
As elected officials, we have to fight the feeling of disconnect between us and the people of Minnesota. This week, to help us better understand how critical it is to fight to save MinnesotaCare, we had the privilege of hearing four citizens talk about the very real consequences they will feel if they are cut from this program. Three of them are single adults without children, all of them self-employed. MinnesotaCare was designed in the recent past just for people like them, working Minnesotans who do not have access to health care coverage.
If the Governor's budget is passed, all three of these adults face a future without health insurance. If they want to receive Medicaid, they have to dissolve their assets, resulting in the loss of their homes, savings and even any vehicle they may own that is valued above $1,000.
The fourth person is battling cancer. Under the $5,000 MinnesotaCare cap that was passed in 2003, she exhausted her benefit for chemotherapy treatments in February. Imagine that you, or someone you love, needs treatments to stay alive and are told by the hospital that continued treatments are not an option until next year, because you reached the dollar limit. Without the treatments to combat the cancer, there is a very real possibility that you will not survive. As was demonstrated by our speaker, this story is being played out for real across the state. Unless we fight to eliminate or raise this cap, many people in our state will die from lack of treatment. This is a very dire example of how our actions as Legislators have real consequences.
So, regardless of the fact that our state is separated into districts, and our country is separated into states, we are all connected. What I do here today matters to someone, whether I realize it or not. I am here not just to represent my constituents, but to work for the common good of all Minnesotans. This is important for every elected official to remember, as we work to reach agreement on funding for critical areas such as health care and education.
Please continue to call or write if you have ideas or concerns you want to share about state or local issues. I can be reached by phone at 1-888-682-3180 or 1-651-296-4193, by mail at 231 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at the above address. If you are interested in receiving my e-newsletter, please email me at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn and your name will be added to our list.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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