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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
GUEST COLUMN
A LOOK AT HEALTH INSURANCE; THOUGHTS FROM THE RESORT INDUSTRY
Notes From the Capitol
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
One of the numbers we keep hearing in the national health insurance debate is 46 million, which is supposedly the number of uninsured people in this country. I think the number is a bit high because it includes the extremely wealthy who self-insure, and also those who are between jobs and will probably have coverage when they assume their new positions.
One group of Americans that seems to be left out of the debate includes those who currently have health coverage but, because of a variety of reasons, can no longer afford it. Their premiums are high and getting higher, and their out-of-pocket costs are also going up. Coupled with the fact that their incomes are stagnant or even going down, it is extremely difficult to maintain coverage.
I visited with a resident of the district who told of receiving notice that her family’s premium for health insurance was going up by 19 percent. She was a stay-at-home mother of three, and her husband was already working long hours at his job. Their monthly premium is nearly $1,400 a month, roughly twice the amount of their house payment! She told me to use her family’s situation as an example of what’s happening in “middle-class America,” where those who are trying to pay their own way are finding it increasingly difficult.
Two of the children have asthma and need medication for that. So there are “co-pays” for medicine and office visits to the doctor that need to be paid “out-of-pocket.” When those additional expenses are added to the monthly premium, the cost can become prohibitive. The mother is looking at going back to work but needs to include the cost of watching the kids after school until either she or her husband gets home from work.
It’s a difficult situation, not unlike many others across our state and nation. We need to pay attention to our working-class and make sure they benefit from any changes in the system. Health saving accounts may be an answer, but when out-of-pocket costs are high they become less attractive.
Attended a meeting recently in Glenwood, which was part of the fall conference of the Minnesota Resort and Campground Association. The three-day gathering was hosted jointly by the Lakeside Ballroom and Peters’ Resort. I visited with Ron Rykken of Timber Bay Lodge at Babbitt, the out-going president of the group, and he had high praise for those who hosted this year’s conference. He said, “The folks at Peters’ and the Lakeside went out of their way in making sure things went well. This was a great location for us, and we look forward to coming back again.”
Several of the topics important to the group are the post-Labor Day school start, along with the issues of private cabin rentals and maintaining the dedicated lodging tax. Rykken added, “We basically have 12 weeks in Minnesota that we make a living on, and we’d like to protect that last holiday week end of the summer. It’s important to us.”
On the issue of private cabin rentals, he said, “We are not afraid of the competition, but we’d like a level playing field. If private cabins paid the same fees and taxes that we do, and were inspected by the Department of Health, we’d have no problem with them.”
Bill Peters of Glenwood was honored with the Hall of Fame Award by the association. The award was presented for his many years of “significant contributions to the industry.” Named Resorter of the Year was Chris Ruttger of Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge in Deerwood.
The association is made up of approximately 450 resort and campground owners. The group’s new president, as of Jan.1, is Harold Kraft of Canary Beach Resort in Villard.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his new office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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