Dear Neighbors,
Yesterday, House Democrats approved legislation that included a provision that would bring Minnesota closer to embracing socialized medicine in our state. A study examining the so-called “public option” is now moving forward in the Minnesota House. In the legislature, government sanctioned “studies” are usually the first step in bringing a larger policy item to reality.
Here’s the thing, we don’t need government to conduct a study into this issue, we already know it would be the wrong approach here in Minnesota.
Research organizations have conducted private studies looking into the costs of government run health care and the type of impact it would have in Minnesota. Some estimates place the annual cost at $35 billion or $70 billion every two years! For context, Minnesota’s current two-year biennial budget is around $50 billion. Single-payer would push Minnesota’s two-year biennium budget to over $100 billion.
While costs for taxpayers would be astronomical, low reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid would cause significant issues for health providers, especially those in rural Minnesota. In the past doctors and hospitals have “cost shifted” losses from government healthcare plans to the private health insurance plans, however, since Obamacare has severely damaged and shrunk the private health insurance market this is no longer feasible.
It's clear that this is a bad idea and we don’t need to waste money on a study to tell us that.
I offered an amendment to remove the language from the bill that authorizes the study. Sadly it was not added to the bill due to House Democrat opposition. Click here to watch some of my comments on this issue during debate last evening.
Staying in Touch
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me to share your thoughts, questions, and concerns as it relates to state government. I can be reached at 651-296-4229 or via email at rep.glenn.gruenhagen@house.mn.
Have a great day,
Glenn