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State Representative Carolyn Laine
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4331
For more information contact: Ted Modrich 651-296-5809
Column/LTE
A Health Care Malady in Minnesota
Under the Governor’s proposal, our health care system would be the recipient of large cuts that will greatly reduce the quality of our hospitals and, in some cases, even threaten to close them down altogether. In a state that prides itself on its health care, we cannot stand for a budget balancing proposal that cripples the quality of care and increases the costs for all of our citizens.
As we continue to review the budget balancing options, we must carefully scrutinize how our actions will affect hospitals in our state. In the metro alone, our hospitals would receive significant reductions in funds. Already, based on the economic climate and the recession, they have been reducing their staff and closing clinics.
While some may think that our hospitals have lots of money on hand, in the metro, hospitals have had a net income loss of over 200 percent. Under the Governor’s revised budget, they will continue to lose funding. Right now, hospitals stand to lose around $800 million in state and matching federal dollars. This is on top of the other financial challenges they are experiencing.
Each year hospitals have to write-off bills they cannot collect. This uncompensated care has, in the past, cost just one metro hospital $1 million a year. Today, with more families suffering financially, this hospital has had $1 million in uncompensated care each month! Obviously, this is financially unsustainable.
Moreover, as the unemployment figures in our state have surpassed the 8 percent mark, the number of uninsured Minnesotans will surely grow. The Governor’s intention to eliminate adults from MinnesotaCare by 2011 would start pushing more people into emergency rooms to get their care. Emergency rooms cost the taxpayer more than any other form of care. Clearly, this kind of action isn’t responsible ethically or financially.
Beyond cutting off health care access to uninsured Minnesotans, and directly squeezing hospitals, the Governor’s plan will continue the spiral of job losses as hospitals need to cut back even more. In Fridley, Unity Hospital provides over 1,600 people with great careers. Unity would have to consider cutting many of those positions as they would face over $12 million in reduced funds.
Any legislation we offer today needs to come out of our values and place those values in a long-range context. Our hospitals are important to us, and they are already in distress. The result of the Governor’s funding cuts would be disastrous to their health. Instead of more harm, we need the ounce of prevention that will give us a pound of cure for this health care malady.
As we enter the final weeks of this legislative session, the state must find a way to balance the budget. Although this year is unprecedented in scope, the Legislature and the Governor have always balanced the budget. We will find a way. While this recession may seem to have no end, we know that we will pull ourselves out of this financial hole. When we do that, however, we need our critical health care institutions to be intact. No area in the budget is immune to cuts, but we must be strategic and thoughtful when choosing them.
Please contact me with your questions and suggestions. Even in the face of grim prospects, we can find the fair and equitable solutions that will preserve our present and provide for our future.
Carolyn Laine
State Representative
407 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4331
rep.carolyn.laine@house.mn
News Items
- Rep. Laine Introduces Bill to Increase HMO Transparency - (Posted: 2012-02-13 00:00:00)
- New Law Gives Minnesotans a Natural Choice for Care of Deceased - (Posted: 2010-04-22 00:00:00)
- PROGRESS MADE IN 2009 SESSION, BUT MUCH MORE WORK AHEAD - (Posted: 2009-06-03 00:00:00)
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