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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Steve Green (R)

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Legislative Update (Nov. 26, 2013)

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Dear neighbor,

On December 1, MNsure – the Minnesota arm of Obamacare – will have been open for two full months. Yet, given that amount of time and more than $150 million of taxpayer resources, no Minnesotan has been able to complete enrollment in a healthcare plan through MNsure.

At the same time, healthcare costs are continuing to increase as Democrats and bureaucrats in St. Paul implement Obamacare in Minnesota. The unelected board of directors for MNsure voted without opposition to charge the maximum tax on health insurance authorized by law for 2014. The money collected from imposing this tax will be held in a special account to be used by MNsure to cover operational costs. As a result, a tax of 1.5% will be levied on individual market and small business plans.  The tax may be as high as 3.5% in 2015 and later years.

Unfortunately, even those who aren’t enrolled through MNsure are going to see their costs rise. It’s been reported that as many as 1 in 20 Minnesotans will be forced to give up policies they like for plans that will be more expensive and involve services they do not want or need. Recently, Governor Dayton announced that he would not allow existing health insurance policies that don’t comply with Obamacare to be renewed or extended for another year. This is a reversal of his earlier position that everyone should be able to keep existing insurance plans under the new federal healthcare law. Minnesotans are learning the hard way that the promise of being able to keep the doctor and plan of your choosing is completely empty.

Your healthcare plan isn’t simply just an insurance plan. It’s how you take care of yourself and your family. Making sure people have access to quality healthcare – especially for those of us in greater Minnesota – is critical. Unfortunately, the implementation of Obamacare in Minnesota is imposing layers of bureaucracy between you and your doctor. The last thing Minnesotans need is more hassles, uncertainty, and confusion about their healthcare brought on Democrats in St. Paul.

Although the legislature is not currently in session, I can still be reached via email at rep.steve.green@house.mn. To contact me by phone, call (651) 296-9918. Mail can be sent to Rep. Steve Green, 231 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Steve