ST. PAUL – Residents struggling with their health care bills should know that the Minnesota House has heard their call for help and has begun to take action according to State Representative Bob Gunther (R-Fairmont).
“Some people are paying $31,000 a year for health insurance premiums and then have an $8,500 deductible on top of that,” Gunther said. “I’ve taken phone calls from area residents who say they can’t make their house and car payments when health insurance is this expensive.”
Gunther said the House is attempting to approve a short term fix now, and will move towards a long term solution in the weeks ahead.
Two health care bills are currently making their way through House committees. The first focuses solely on providing health insurance premium relief to eligible Minnesotans. The second tackles reform, including provisions that ensures some continuity of care, prevents double dipping and surprise billing, and allows for-profit HMO’s to compete in Minnesota.
“Our goal is to find solutions, create competition to make policies cheaper, and start to give people a financial break,” Gunther concluded.