ST. PAUL – Minnesota House Health and Human Services Finance Committee Chairman Rep. Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, will host a public forum to receive input on health insurance issues Friday in Duluth.
The health insurance premium crisis MNsure enrollees are facing has been a top subject in the early stages of the 2017 session. A package of premium relief, preservation of care, reforms to increase competition and choice was enacted Thursday, a move Dean said is a step in the right direction, but not a panacea.
“Middle-class Minnesota is in a vice,” Dean said. “Folks are paying tens of thousands of dollars per year for health care and they just can’t afford it. And, as bad a crisis as the insurance costs are, the problem of limited access is even worse. People are being cut off from their doctor and their hospital. They are paying more to get less while others pay less and get more.”
Dean also said he will discuss the legislative remedy passed last year to settle state Medicaid liens. This crisis was brought to light, Dean said, thanks in large part because of the investigative reports by the Duluth News Tribune.
Friday’s meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the St. Louis County Courthouse, 100 N. 5th Ave. W., Duluth.
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