Adults covered by MinnesotaCare would be moved to private coverage, under a bill approved March 25 by the House Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Committee.
Sponsored by Rep. Steve Gottwalt (R-St. Cloud), HF1865 would establish a “Healthy Minnesota Plan” that would allow adults to enroll in their choice of individual health plans under contract with the Human Services Department. If a person doesn’t qualify for the program, they would be covered under the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association. HMP services could cover up to a maximum of $5 million that would include: eyewear coverage, maternity labor and delivery, dental coverage, prescriptions and preventive care.
The bill now goes to the House Finance Committee. A companion, SF1735, sponsored by Sen. David Hann (R-Eden Prairie), awaits action by the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee.
MinnesotaCare costs about $500 per adult, per month. Under HMP, a healthy 50-year-old male would cost about $237 a month, said Greg Sailer, managing consultant for the Minnesota Association of Health Underwriters.
“The intent of this plan is to provide MinnesotaCare level of benefits, and then some,” said Gottwalt. Additionally, services would be paid at private rates. Public programs currently don’t pay providers sufficiently, causing cost shifting to other consumers, Gottwalt added.
“Ultimately we ought to have a health care system where the public programs pay the providers the same as everybody else,” said Rep. Thomas Huntley (DFL-Duluth).
If the state pays higher rates for services in public programs, health plans should shift less cost onto other consumers, added Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Mpls), the committee chairman.
Phillip Griffin, representing PreferredOne and UCare Minnesota, said providers are already trying to deal with rising costs and struggling to continue current programs.
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